


Written In The Stars

by Inkandquills, writersstudy



Series: One Big Happy Family [2]
Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Author!Taeyong, Day6 doesn't show up til chapter 34, Fluff, M/M, Miscarriage, Moving, Mpreg, Scientist!Kun, Smut, baby!jisung, toddler!Chenle, toddler!Dowoon, toddler!Jeno, toddler!Wonpil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-10-21 20:37:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 190,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkandquills/pseuds/Inkandquills, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersstudy/pseuds/writersstudy
Summary: Kun and Taeyong's life is finally going in the direction they always wanted it to. With stable jobs and a stable relationship, they decide it's time for the final piece: kids. Calm, cool, and collected suddenly becomes chaos, chaos, and more chaos, but they wouldn't have it any other way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the result of roleplay-style writing where Michelle (Inkandquills) and I (writersstudy) go back and forth from the perspectives of different characters. I am Taeyong, she is Kun.

Taeyong was bone tired. After almost twelve hours straight of standing on his feet and straining to hear customers, he just wanted to crawl into bed and pass out for three days. With a yawn, he pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked his - and now Kun’s - apartment. He had expected everything to be pitch dark and for his lover to already be in bed, but that wasn’t the case. Kun was curled up on the couch, nodding off to a nature documentary. With a groan, Taeyong collapsed onto the couch next to him.

Kun jolted awake when Taeyong plopped down on the couch next to him.  He hadn’t heard him unlock the door. “How was was work?” he asked sleepily as he shifted on the couch so he could cuddle up to Taeyong.

“So fucking long,” Taeyong said quietly, “I’m really sore.” Reaching up, he carefully popped his hearing aids out and turned them off. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to Kun; the aids had just been in all day and his ears were sweaty and itchy.

Kun blinked his eyes back open just as he caught Taeyong taking out his hearing aids.  He slipped off the couch and into the kitchen to reheat leftovers from what he made earlier that evening. Taeyong came home absolutely exhausted after every shift and Kun felt horrible. There was only so much he could do to help so he tried to cook Taeyong’s favorite meal as often as possible, without either of them getting sick of it.  Kun carried the heated plate to where Taeyong was still sat on the couch. They hardly used the kitchen table anymore considering their schedules rarely lined up so they could eat together.

When Kun got up, Taeyong let himself flop over into the empty spot. He curled up and reveled in the warmth from where his lover had been laying. A glance at his watch showed that it was nearly midnight. He hadn’t eaten since that morning, but he was barely hungry now. It was simply too late.

Kun smiled softly when he saw Taeyong curled up on the couch.  “Hungry?” he signed as he placed the plate down on the coffee table.  Over the past several years, Kun had been diligently practicing sign language and he had learned quite a bit.  It was incredibly helpful and allowed Taeyong to take his aids out at home whenever they bothered him.

“A little,” Taeyong said. Realistically, he hadn’t eaten in hours and needed to nourish his body, but he simply didn’t have the energy.

Kun sat down on the couch and guided Taeyong to sit up next to him.  He picked up the plate and began to feed his exhausted fiancé some dinner.

Taeyong wasn’t really keeping track of his own movements. He let Kun feed him until he physically couldn’t stomach any more. It was one of his favorite meals, but he simply wasn’t that hungry. “I’ll have the rest for lunch tomorrow,” he said mumbled, knowing he had the day off.

Kun nodded and put the plate back down.  “Let’s get you to bed.” He guided Taeyong off of the couch and into their bedroom.  Once the elder was in bed, Kun went back into the living room to clean up the plate. A few minutes later he was climbing into bed and settling down next to Taeyong, one arm wrapped around him.

Taeyong sleepily rid himself of his work clothes, simply tossing them on the floor to be cleaned up in the morning. He was left in just his underwear in the chilly November air that invaded their apartment. He was all too happy to be pressed close to his lover.

Kun pressed a light kiss against Taeyong’s forehead before snuggling closer.  With a contented sigh, he tucked the elder’s head under his chin. As much as Kun loved his job, he dreaded waking up for it so he reveled in the feeling of holding Taeyong close as long as he could.

“Saw the cutest baby today,” Taeyong mumbled into Kun’s chest. Although the room was dark and he wouldn’t be able to know exactly how his lover responded, he would at least be able to get an idea from the vibrations of Kun speaking.

Kun sighed again.  He could just imagine the smile plastered across the baby’s face and it’s little giggle at something it saw. It seemed like more and more often they were running into families with small babies and that just made him want one all the more.  Taeyong had been bringing up kids he saw a lot more recently and Kun couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same way. “I can’t help but want one more and more whenever you mention them,” he said.

Taeyong hummed, taking a moment to decipher what Kun had said. “You would be such a good dad, Kunnie,” he said, punctuating it with a yawn.

A smile spread across Kun’s face as soon as the word “dad” fell from Taeyong’s lips.  He hadn’t ever thought seriously about becoming a dad before but it certainly had a nice ring to it.  “All this baby talk is wearing you out, hm? We can talk more about it tomorrow. For now get some sleep, babe,” Kun said gently.  He himself wasn’t very tired anymore; the thought of him and Taeyong having their own little family was much too exciting.

Taeyong was off in dreamland before Kun even finished his sentence. And dream he did. He had always accepted the fact that he would likely end up childless and alone. However, since he and Kun had promised themselves to each other as legally as they could last year, all he could think about was starting a family. Every young child that came through was just another reminder of the one thing he had always wished to have.

Kun eventually drifted off to sleep. Of course it didn’t last nearly as long as he wished, and he eventually reached over to shut his alarm off.  After laying in bed for a few more minutes, Kun regretfully untangled himself from Taeyong so that he could get up and get ready.

Taeyong whined in displeasure when Kun got up, but rolled over into the warm spot and quickly fell back asleep. He loved the younger man, but he couldn’t get up to see him off on just a few short hours of sleep.

Kun smiled fondly when he saw Taeyong asleep in the middle of their bed.  He hoped work went by fast so that he could climb right back into his spot.  With one last look over his shoulder, Kun ran into the kitchen to grab some fruit for breakfast and than off to work he went.

When Taeyong woke up a few hours later, he was alone and cold. Bundling himself up in a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a blanket, he grabbed his laptop and opened his manuscript. It was the same one he’d been working on in college. It had been rejected by nearly every publisher in the game, but Taeyong was in love with the story and continued to refine it and send it out. This time, however, he found himself distracted by searching adoptions.

Kun’s day was relatively quiet for once, but unfortunately that made it drag on.  Finally his shift was over and he all but rushed home. He loved the days Taeyong had off so he could spend all evening pressed against his fiancé on the couch.  “Tae, I’m home!” he called when he walked in. He already sent a text that he was on his way in case Taeyong had taken his hearing aids out.

Taeyong jumped when he felt the front door slam, as it shook the rest of the tiny apartment. Glancing at his phone, he realized Kun must be home and quickly switched tabs.

Kun slipped his shoes off and quickly made his way around the apartment to find Taeyong.  “Hey, how was your day?” he asked chipperly when he found his fiancé.

Taeyong squinted to read Kun’s lips properly and smiled. “It was good,” he said, “my manuscript is almost ready to send to that fantasy guy.”

"Oh that's awesome!  I'm sure he'll love it," Kun said happily, "what do you say to having some dinner and then cuddling on the couch?  I've missed you." He knew Taeyong wouldn't say no, but he finished his sentence off with a pout regardless. It wasn't a lie; he really did miss the elder considering both of their hectic work schedules.

“Or,” Taeyong said, “we order dinner and cuddle in bed to watch a movie on my laptop.” He wasn’t in much of a mood to move just yet, although he did have to pee pretty badly.

"Deal," Kun said, "give me fifteen minutes to take a shower and then I'm all yours."  He headed for the bathroom, but not before stealing a quick kiss from Taeyong.

“Wait, wait, I need to pee first,” Taeyong called after Kun, his lips still tingling. He would never get over kissing his lover; every time felt just like the first.

Kun chuckled as Taeyong came practically running out of the bedroom.  "Fine, but it's gonna cost you," he teased.

“All the kisses you want,” Taeyong promised as he darted into the bathroom.

Kun smiled to himself at the promise of more kisses.  Instead of waiting outside the door he decided to go scroll through the movies on Netflix to see if anything new was added.  He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Taeyong's laptop onto his lap. He was just about to open a new tab when a different one caught his eye.  Clicking on it revealed an adoption agency website and Kun sucked in a breath. They had really only talked about kids in passing but it was obvious that Taeyong was serious.  His mouth curled into a small smile at the thought of a toddler running amok around their apartment. After scrolling through the website for a few minutes, he finally forced himself to switch tabs before Taeyong came back.

Taeyong hadn’t realized how badly he had needed to pee until he was in the bathroom. When he finally got out, he smiled at the sight of Kun scrolling through Netflix. “I’ll find something cute and animated,” he promised, “you go shower.”

"Alright," Kun said as he stood up and passed the laptop back to Taeyong.  He kept his word because no longer than fifteen minutes later he was crawling back into bed, much more comfortable in sweatpants and a long sleeve.  "I believe you owe me something," he said as settled himself next to Taeyong.

Taeyong pulled up a random Disney movie, something he knew he could easily ignore in favor of his lover. He would easily give Kun more kisses than he could ever owe him.

Kun shifted up the bed so he could slowly nose his way to Taeyong's mouth.  He caught a glimpse of the movie Taeyong picked out of the corner of his eye but he wasn't particularly interested in that right now.  He knew he wanted to bring up the adoption website but that could wait until later.

Taeyong easily kissed his lover back. He melted into Kun after days of being apart from him. “So,” He said when he pulled away, “I have news.”

"News? Good news or bad news?" Kun asked, pulling back slightly.  He racked his brain for what Taeyong could possibly have to tell him, but he was coming up empty.

“Good news,” Taeyong said, “I finally put in my two weeks at the store. There’s a book shop downtown that’s hiring associates and it’s better pay and better hours. I start once I finish at the old place.”

"That's wonderful, babe!" Kun said excitedly, "That'll be so much better for you.  I've been getting worried about how many hours you work." Not only would less hours mean Taeyong wouldn't come home from work exhausted everyday, but that meant that they would have more time to spend together.

“I know,” Taeyong said happily, “I’ll be able to sleep at a normal hour for once.” He was glad that he’d be able to see Kun more. He missed his lover.

Kun was practically beaming from how excited he was.  He leaned down to capture Taeyong's lips once more. It seemed like the pieces of their life were slowly putting themselves together, but there was just one last thing missing.

Taeyong practically melted into Kun. It was all made better by the fact that their anniversary was coming up. He would get out of the old place just in time to take a few days and do something nice for Kun.

Kun hummed happily, enjoying the feeling of Taeyong's soft lips against his own.  A few minutes later he regretfully pulled away and let his eyes roam around Taeyong's face, the elder seemed to get that much more beautiful with every passing day.

“God, I love you,” Taeyong said suddenly. He felt like he didn’t tell Kun enough how much he appreciated him.

Kun smiled, if there were three words he would never get tired of hearing, or saying, it was those.   “I love you too,” he whispered, eyes coming up to meet Taeyong’s. He took a deep breath, the movie was long forgotten and he didn’t think any other moment was perfect as this one.  “Babe,” he began slowly, “what do you think about starting a family?”

“It’s all I’ve been able to think about for the last year,” Taeyong admitted. He loved kids and he had always wanted at least one of his own. Sure, he had practically raised Mark, but that was different.

Kun knew Taeyong has wanted a baby for a long time, but he didn’t realize it was quite that long.  “Well with your new job I think it’s gonna be a lot easier to bring a baby into the house,” he said.  He fingers nervously played with the hem of Taeyong’s shirt. The thought of starting a family was exciting but the fact that it might become a reality sooner rather than later was both terrifying and exhilarating.

“I was, uh, actually looking at adoption stuff earlier,” Taeyong admitted. Reaching to grab his laptop, he paused the movie and switched to the other tab, showing Kun what he had looked at.

Kun sighed softly.  “I saw the tab when I was looking at movies earlier,” he said slowly, “that’s why I brought it up.  I knew you wanted a family but I wasn’t sure how serious you were.” He didn’t like to admit he was snooping around Taeyong’s laptop but the last thing Kun was going to do was lie.

“I’ve actually been looking around at stuff for a few weeks,” Taeyong said, “there’s a few different agencies, but this one seems to be the most reputable. There’s really extensive background checks, a ton of visits from social workers, they’re multinational so they do adoptions across borders. They seem like the real deal.”

Kun hummed, growing more and more excited as Taeyong went on.  “That all sounds great,” he said, hardy keeping his excitement in check, “when can we meet with someone?”

“There’s an application form on the site,” Taeyong explained, “they’ll look over it and run some preliminary stuff then set up a meeting with us and a social worker.” As long as the process was, he was glad. They were really doing the most to protect the kids under their care.

Kun nodded in understanding.  “Do you want to fill it out now?” he asked hopefully.  He knew the process would take a while, which would give Taeyong plenty of time to settle into his new job before they brought a baby home.

“I want to call them first,” Taeyong said, “it’s not worth applying if they don’t even work with couples like us.” He knew that, despite how far things had come, there were still too many agencies that were hesitant to work with gay people.

Kun sighed sadly, “that’s a good idea.”  He didn’t want to get his hopes up too high, considering the fact that they could get rejected by the agency.  The thought hurt, but it wasn’t anything Kun wasn’t used to. “Once they see how perfect you are to be a parent and how much we want a family, they aren’t going to be able to say no,” he added.  He knew it wasn’t that simple, but he wanted to stay positive.

“I like the attitude,” Taeyong said with a laugh, “I’ll call them in the morning, okay?” For now, he just wanted to spend some downtime with Kun.

“That sounds perfect,” Kun said with an eager nod.  A small smile pulled at his lips, “now where were we?”

Taeyong kissed Kun forcefully. Something about the idea of growing their family apparently really got him going. It was actually a little concerning.

Kun groaned into Taeyong’s mouth, not expecting the elder to be so forceful.  He eagerly kissed his fiancé back as a hand slipped under Taeyong’s shirt to lay on his waist.

Taeyong found himself setting the laptop aside and rolling himself into Kun’s lap. He wanted to be as close to his lover as possible.

Kun hummed happily and pulled Taeyong the rest of the way against him.  He kissed the elder like he was afraid of losing him and his grip on Taeyong’s waist subconsciously tightened.

Taeyong loved the way Kun’s grip on him tightened, but he was still tired and so was his fiancé. “Let’s leave celebrating until we’re sure it’s possible,” he said, panting as he pulled away.

Kun nodded slowly.  He couldn't help the wide smile that spread across his face when he met Taeyong's eyes.  His hand absentmindedly ran up and down Taeyong's side. Even after all these years he couldn't quite wrap his head around how lucky he was.  

“You find a movie we’ll actually watch and I’ll go grab the takeout menus and a bottle of wine,” Taeyong said, already up and out the door.

The smile never left Kun's face and he reached over to drag Taeyong's laptop back onto his lap.  After selecting the new Avengers they both had been wanting to see, he put the laptop to the side and waited for Taeyong to come back.

Taeyong came back with a pile of menus and two bottles of red wine in hand. One was nearly empty, so he had grabbed a second just in case. “Alright, what do you want to eat?”

Kun smirked when he saw Taeyong carrying two wine bottles.  Unfortunately he had work the next day or he would have happily help Taeyong finish both of them.  "Hmm how about pizza? We haven't done that in a while," he said.

Taeyong handed the open bottle to Kun and laid out the variety of pizza menus they possessed. There were a number of places around their apartment and each one had its different merits.

Kun took a sip right from the bottle, glasses and other formalities had taken a backseat years ago.  He closed his eyes and let his hand hover over the pile of menus before finally letting it fall onto the bed.  "That one," he announced, opening his eyes to see which one he had picked.

"Going for the good crust tonight," Taeyong mused. The one Kun had chosen was his personal favorite, so he wasn't complaining. "What kind?"

"Why do I have to pick everything?" Kun whined.  He picked up the menu regardless and skimmed it. "Something with meat.  Maybe bacon. Oh or meatball? I don't know, what do you want?" He put the menu back down and pouted up at Taeyong.

"How do you feel about bacon and pineapple?" Taeyong asked, flipping the menu over in his hand. He reached over and stole the bottle of wine from Kun, taking a sip as he considered.

"That sounds great," Kun said.  He wasn't picky in the slightest and was just happy they decided on something.  "Hey give that back," he added as he snatched the wine bottle out of Taeyong's hands.

"Nuh uh, I'm not opening the other bottle until we finish that one," Taeyong said, releasing his grip on the bottle anyway. He reached for his laptop, always grateful that this place had online ordering.

"And what are the odds of that happening tonight?" Kun asked as he took another sip.  The bottle was only a quarter of the way full at this point. He took one more small sip before surrendering the bottle to Taeyong.

"Good, but I don't want to spoil the other bottle and you can't have too much tonight," Taeyong said. As cute as he thought drunk Kun was, he would never let his lover go to work hungover.

Kun sighed softly, "yeah yeah."  He couldn't wait for the next two weeks to be over.  Once Taeyong started his new job they would have much similar schedules and could actually enjoy their weekends together.

Taeyong took another sip of wine before setting the bottle to the side, choosing to save the rest for when the pizza got there. Instead, he laid against Kun's chest and pressed play on the movie.

Kun wrapped an arm around Taeyong and pulled him closer.  He pressed a light kiss to the top of the elder's head before turning his attention to the movie.

Taeyong turned his focus to the movie, absentmindedly playing with the ring on his finger. He was engrossed in the movie and barely even noticed when his phone started buzzing. Pizza was here.

Kun tore his eyes away from the laptop when he noticed Taeyong's phone buzzing beside them.  "Pizza's here," he murmured as he shifted Taeyong off of himself so he could get their dinner.  Within the next few minutes he was back in bed, the box of pizza laying between them.

Taeyong reached for the pizza happily and took a slice from the box. "Oh my god, it's so good," he said, cheeks bulging as he ate.

Kun chuckled, watching Taeyong for a few moments before taking his own piece.  "I don't know any other person who could make eating pizza look so adorable," he commented.

"I'm just that talented," Taeyong said through a mouth full of food. Being with Kun had made him a lot more confident, although he still had his moments.

"Yes you are, babe," Kun said through a laugh.  He leaned over to kiss Taeyong's temple before turning his attention back to the movies.  He didn't think they would ever get through an entire movie without getting distracted to some capacity.

Taeyong chowed down on his pizza, content to finally be eating. The pizza was good, the movie was good, but being with Kun was the best part of it all. He missed his lover so much, even though they lived together.

When they were both done eating, Kun set the pizza box aside so that he could snuggle close to Taeyong.  He put his arms around the elder and settled down comfortably to watch the rest of the movie.

Taeyong laid on Kun's chest, engrossed in the movie. He absently fingered the pendant around his neck, running it along the chain as his eyes stayed locked on the screen.

Kun tried to pay attention to the movie but he kept finding his focus straying towards Taeyong.  He gently rubbed the elder's back and tried to force his eyes back to the laptop. Eventually he gave up on the movie and just watched Taeyong instead.

Despite how engaging the movie was, Taeyong soon found himself nodding off. He was asleep before Thanos had even found the fourth stone.

Kun smiled softly when he noticed that Taeyong was asleep.  Carefully he shifted the elder off of himself so he could discard of the pizza box and put the laptop and wine away.  When that was done he crawled back into bed and gathered Taeyong tightly in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

The phone call had gone well and Taeyong and Kun had sent in their application a few days after. Now it was just a waiting game - one that was turning into weeks. Taeyong had been at his new job for a week and a half when he finally got a call from a social worker, wanting to meet with him and Kun.

Kun entered their apartment much quieter than usual.  He called out a simple "I'm home" before toeing off his shoes and shedding his jacket.  To say he had a long day would be an understatement and all he wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed.

"In here!" Taeyong called from the kitchen, where he was putting the finishing touches on dinner. He was excited to share his news with Kun.

Kun plodded into the kitchen and slipped into a chair.  "How was your day?" he asked conversationally as he crossed his arms on the table and laid his head on them.

"Oh, it was okay," Taeyong said nonchalantly as he placed dinner on the table, "say, are you available Tuesday at 1:30?"

"I can be," Kun said slightly confused, "is everything okay?"  He picked his head up and eyed Taeyong suspiciously, the wheels in his head slowly turning.

"I got a phone call today from a woman named Park Sunyoung," Taeyong said as he sat down, "she wants to set up a meeting with us in regards to potentially adopting a little boy from China." He could barely contain his excitement and a grin split across his face.

Kun was absolutely ecstatic and his exhaustion from his day immediately melted away.  "Really? This Tuesday? Oh my God, Tae, that's amazing," he said excitedly. He couldn't help himself and leapt out of the chair to envelope his fiancé in a big hug.  "I hope this works out," he murmured into Taeyong's neck. Kun would love any child that they adopted but the fact that the boy was also from China made him that much more eager.

Taeyong hugged Kun back tightly, positively beaming. He was so excited. They were really going to be parents. Oh god, he needed to start shopping. "His name’s Chenle and he's two years old," he said when he pulled away.

"Chenle what an adorable name," Kun mused, "oh I bet he's the cutest thing."  He couldn't stop smiling and he took one good look at Taeyong before crashing their lips together.

Taeyong kissed Kun back happily, pressing close to his lover. He was so excited, although he was definitely nervous about the language barrier he would definitely have with Chenle. "Guess what else happened today?"

Kun pulled back slowly.  "What?" he asked curiously, his voice betraying his impatience.  He kept his arms wrapped around Taeyong, practically pinning the elder against him.

"I sent the manuscript off to that publisher last week and he emailed me back today," Taeyong said, unable to contain his grin, "he loved it! I'm meeting him on my lunch break tomorrow to talk publishing!"

"Oh, babe, I'm so happy for you!  I know how hard you worked on it. And now you can tell everyone you're going to be a published author!" Kun rambled.  After weeks of being in a lull it was very refreshing to receive so much good news.

"I'm so excited," Taeyong said before kissing Kun again. He pushed the younger back until he was pressed against the counter.

"Me too," Kun breathed.  He kissed Taeyoung back eagerly, one hand coming up to cup the elder's cheek while the other rested against the small of his back, holding him close.

"Fuck dinner," Taeyong said, already pulling Kun down the hall, "fuck me instead."

   

Ever since Taeyong started his new job Kun had a refound love of Saturdays.  His favorite thing about them was being able to wake up without an alarm with the man he loved happily wrapped up in his arms.

Taeyong usually loved waking up in Kun's arms, but not when he felt sick to his stomach and his lover was trapping him in bed. With a groan, Taeyong rolled over and shoved at Kun's chest. "Let me go," he whined.

Kun frowned but immediately loosened his hold on Taeyong.  “Everything okay, babe?” he asked concernedly. Usually they spent their Saturday mornings laying in bed until one of them got hungry.

“Still don’t feel good,” Taeyong groaned as he rolled out of bed. He had been sick for the last few days with what he could only assume was food poisoning. Within moments of reaching the toilet, Taeyong was throwing up last night’s dinner.

Kun was out of bed just behind Taeyong.  He rubbed his fiancé’s back, wishing there was more he could do.  “Do you think you should see a doctor?” Kun asked as he chewed on his lip, “It’s been a few days.  This could be something serious.” He was worried out of his mind, neither of them had ever been this sick before.

Taeyong waved a hand dismissively. “It’s probably from that pizza the other night,” he said, but even he knew that wasn’t true. If it was, Kun would be sicker than he was. Realistically, he had a good guess as to what was going on, but he didn’t even want to think about the possibility, not with Chenle just coming into their lives. They had met with the social worker a few days prior and she had walked them through all the proper paperwork. Once Chenle was able to fly to Korea, he was all theirs. They had been working on his room all week. “Or maybe from the paint fumes?”

Kun shook his head, “it can’t be the pizza; I would be sick too.  And I’ve been in Chenle’s room but I’m been fine. Maybe the paint fumes are bothering you more.  I’ll finish getting everything ready and you get some rest. Do you think you can get back to bed now?”  Kun’s voice was laced with worry and his eyes darted nervously around Taeyong’s pale face.

Taeyong nodded and stood up, flushing the toilet. He brushed his teeth and washed his face before looking in the mirror. He had gained a little weight recently, but nothing completely noticeable. With a groan, he rubbed his head and headed back to bed. He would go to the doctor on Monday.

Kun helped guide Taeyong back to bed before heading into the kitchen to fill a glass of water.  Returning to the bedroom, he placed the glass on the nightstand before crawling back into bed.

By the time Taeyong made it to the doctor on Monday, he’d had thrown up three more times: twice on Sunday and again Monday morning. The answer was just what he had feared. Once he got out of the office, practically in tears out of worry, he texted Johnny, asking to meet up.

Kun was a nervous wreck all day at work on Monday.  He was so distracted that two separate coworkers asked if he was okay.  Finally his shift end and he sped home. “Tae, I’m home. How’d it go?” he called nervously.  He was confused when there was no answer and he absolutely panicked when he couldn’t find Taeyong anywhere in the apartment.  Quickly he pulled out his phone to text the elder: “Hey babe I’m home. Just making sure everything is okay.”

“Omw home from Johnny’s.” Taeyong waited nervously for his train. He had elected not to drive, knowing he wouldn’t be able to fully pay attention. Even after talking with Johnny for hours, he had no idea how to tell Kun.

Kun sighed in relief when he got Taeyong’s reply.  “Ok! See you soon! Do you want some dinner? I can make something light.” He quickly pressed send and headed into the kitchen to see what ingredients they had lying around.

When Taeyong finally got home, he paced outside nervously for a moment before going in. He just had to be honest and confident. Kun would understand, right?

Kun was standing over the stove when he heard the door open.  “I’m in the kitchen,” he called. He was glad Taeyong made it home safe and hoped that everything had gone well at the doctor’s.

Taeyong made his way to the kitchen and immediately wrapped himself around Kun’s back. He didn’t say anything, simply let himself hug his lover for a minute before he had to drop the bomb.

Kun sighed when Taeyong wrapped himself around his back, but his silence was concerning.  “Hi,” he said softly, “how did everything go today? Did they figure out what’s wrong?”

Taeyong opened his mouth and suddenly found that he couldn’t do it. “They put me on anti-nausea medication,” he said truthfully, “and I have to go back in a few weeks for some testing.” That was also true, even if it wasn’t the kind of testing Kun would think it was.

Kun frowned; that didn’t sound like they knew what was wrong.  “A few weeks? They can’t do the tests sooner?” he asked. He was grateful Taeyong had gotten medication but that didn’t matter if they wouldn’t know the root of the problem for a couple more weeks.  He didn’t want Taeyong to get worse in that time.

“They did some today, but it’ll take a couple weeks to come back,” Taeyong explained. That part was a blatant lie. “They gave me the meds to see if they help in the meantime.”

Kun sighed sadly, he didn’t want to wait that long for the test results but it didn’t look like he had a choice.  “Do they have any ideas of what’s wrong?” he asked almost desperately.

“A couple, but nothing concrete,” Taeyong said with a sigh. He hated lying to Kun, but he couldn’t tell him, not now. Not until they knew whether or not Chenle was a sure thing. Taeyong needed to go into this with a plan.

“Alright,” Kun mumbled, “dinner’s almost ready. Do you want to try to eat something?”  He reached to grab some plates from the cabinet, pulling Taeyong with him.

“Yeah, that would good,” Taeyong said, shuffling along with Kun. He didn’t want to let go of his lover just yet.

Kun chuckled softly when Taeyong stayed glued to his back.  He plated their food but didn’t turn around yet. “Babe, you gotta let go so I can walk,” he said gently.

Taeyong shook his head stubbornly, tightening his grip on Kun. He knew he was being dumb and clingy, but he was worried.

Kun put the plates back down and spun himself around so he was facing Taeyong.  He wrapped his arms around the elder and pulled him close. “What’s going on, Tae?” he murmured.  Taeyong was naturally clingy, but this was different.

“I’m just worried,” Taeyong said quietly, “I’m scared something will go wrong with the adoption or the doctor will find something serious, I don’t know. Things have been so great lately, but it won’t last forever. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“Try not to think like that,” Kun said as he rubbed Taeyong’s back, “everything has gone great with the adoption so far and I’m sure the rest of it will too.  I’m worried about the tests too, but one day at a time. And I’ll be here no matter what okay?” His voice all the sincerity he felt and more.

Taeyong nodded slowly and finally peeled himself away from his lover. “I’m sorry, Kunnie, but I think I’m just gonna go lay down,” he said apologetically, “put my dinner in the fridge and I’ll eat it when I feel better.”

“Okay,” Kun said, “I’ll be in in a few minutes.  He busied himself cleaning the kitchen. Sighing sadly he tackled putting the leftovers away first as he quickly ate his own dinner.  He hope these next weeks flew by; he didn’t like how miserable Taeyong was feeling and he just wanted the doctors to find out what’s going on.

On his way to the bedroom, Taeyong grabbed the packet of papers out of his bag and locked it in his desk drawer. He couldn’t risk Kun finding them right now, not when he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

Within ten minutes Kun had eaten and cleaned up the kitchen.  He disappeared into the bathroom to wash up and get changed. When he finally got into the bedroom he all but collapsed into bed.  He settled himself comfortably before opening his arms for Taeyong.

Taeyong easily hid himself in Kun’s arms. He had already taken his hearing aids out and was pressing his face to his lover’s neck. Hopefully, that was sign enough that he didn’t want to talk.

Kun hummed contently as Taeyong settled himself in his arms.  He tightened his grip around the elder and gently rubbed his back, hoping they would both be asleep soon; Taeyong could certainly use the rest.

Kun’s hand felt nice on Taeyong’s back. After a week hunched over the toilet, he was more sore than he realized and the gentle touch felt amazing. Before long, he was out cold.

Kun smiled when he felt Taeyong relax fully against and heard his breathing even out.  He placed a gentle kiss to Taeyong’s forehead before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

A few days later, Taeyong still hadn’t told Kun and it was weighing heavily on his conscience. Not only did he hate keeping things from his lover, he also had no idea how to even bring it up. “Hey, y’know the other day. Yeah, I lied.” _That_ would just go over splendidly.

Kun was still nervous even a few days later.  Taeyong had been much quieter than usual and he couldn’t help but think there was something else going on.   One day he got home from work he headed straight to the bathroom after calling out his usual greeting. He felt dirty and didn’t want to think about anything else until he took a shower.

Taeyong was in bed when he heard Kun get home. He’d gone to take a nap after getting home from work, but he hadn’t been able to fall asleep. Instead, he was laying awake, miserable.

Once Kun had taken a shower he headed to the bedroom to find Taeyong.  Sure enough his fiancé why lying in the middle of the bed. “Hey, how was your day?” Kun asked gently as he made his way over.

“Long,” Taeyong mumbled tiredly, “I’m really sore.” It had been a stock day, which meant carrying heavy cases of books all around the store. His body was hating him for it now.

“I’m sorry, babe,” Kun murmured as he settled down next to Taeyong, “did you take anything yet?”  He hoped Taeyong had at least taken something so that he could fall asleep easier.

Taeyong shook his head. He knew he should take some painkillers or something but all he had wanted to do was lay down in the dark.

Kun sighed sadly.  “Do you want me to get you something?” he asked quietly.  He had to admit he was quite comfortable but he would get up in a heartbeat for Taeyong.

“No, it’s okay,” Taeyong mumbled, “i’ll just sleep it off.” The truth was that he hadn’t been sleeping well either. The weight of his secret was keeping him up. He really had no idea how to tell Kun and, at this point, it would cause a fight.

“Alright,” Kun lamented, “get some sleep and I’ll wake you up in a little while to try and eat something okay?”  He would be happy to let Taeyong sleep through the night, but he had to eat something. Kun shifted closer to his fiancé so he could wrap an arm around him.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few weeks continued just the same.  Finally, after what felt like ages, they got the news that they would be able to bring Chenle home. All they had to do was meet him and Sunyoung at the airport, which was where they were now.

Kun was growing more and more ansty as the minutes passed by.  He jiggled his leg, tapped his fingers on this thigh, and was constantly checking his watch, anything to pass the time.  On top of that he had Taeyong’s hand clutched tightly in his own. “Are you ready to meet our baby?” he asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes, Kunnie," Taeyong replied, as he had a million times already, "the flight landed a half an hour ago; they'll be out any minute once they get through customs and the baggage claim. Just be patient."

Kun smiled and squeezed Taeyong’s hand.  “I know. I know. It’s just so hard. We’ve been waiting for this for so long, I can’t believe we’re actually taking Chenle home today” he said excitedly.

"Look, there's Sunyoung!" Taeyong said, standing up. With her was another, taller woman, who was holding the hand of a small boy. Sunyoung waved when she saw Taeyong and the three made a beeline for him and Kun. "This is one of our agents in China, Song Qian," she said, gesturing to the woman, "and this little cutie is Chenle."

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kun said politely before turning his attention to Chenle.  He let go of Taeyong’s hand and knelt down in front of the toddler. “Hi, Chenle,” he greeted in Mandarin.  The toddler had hidden himself behind Qian’s leg, but peaked out when he heard Kun’s greeting.

Taeyong hugged Sunyoung tightly as Kun knelt to try talking to Chenle. "Thank you so much," he said sincerely, "you have no idea how much this means to us."

“He’s a little shy at first, but once he warms up he doesn’t stop talking.  And he’s a ball of energy so you’ll have your hands full, but he’s an absolute sweetheart,” Qian explained as she encouraged Chenle to go with Kun.  Kun whispered soothingly to Chenle introducing himself, telling him about his new home, and explaining all the things they were going to do together. Eventually he convinced Chenle to come with him and he happily scooped the toddler into his arms. Standing upright, he turned to face Taeyong. “He’s absolutely adorable,” he breathed.

Taeyong heart felt like it was going to burst as he watched Kun with their son - _their_ son! Chenle was absolutely adorable and Taeyong was already absolutely smitten. He just hoped things would be this easy further down the line.

Kun couldn't contain his smile.  He quickly introduced Chenle to Taeyong before turning his attention back to Sunyoung and Qian.  Once he had thanked them both and they had all bid their farewells, the trio headed home. "Do you want to hold him?" Kun asked as they walked through the airport to their car.

"Sure," Taeyong said, unable to contain his grin. He had a son! A beautiful two year old son! Carefully, he reached his arms out to Chenle.

Chenle was a bit hesitant to go with Taeyong, but Kun passed him over anyway.  He didn't think it was possibly, but he found his smile growing wider as he watched his fiancé and his son.  If you asked Kun where he would be in six years when he was a senior in college he would have never have thought it would be bringing his family home from the airport.

Taeyong took Chenle with a smile, holding him securely. He introduced himself in the little broken Mandarin he knew and that seemed to make the boy a little less hesitant. By the time they reached the car, Chenle was fully relaxed, but still not quite talkative.

"I hope he warms up soon," Kun said as he climbed into the car.  The whole ride home his eyes flicked between the road and the rearview mirror.  He couldn't believe that he and Taeyong finally had a family. Everything was going so perfectly and only other thing Kun wanted was for Taeyong to feel better soon.

"He will," Taeyong said confidently, "I'm gonna bring home some Mandarin books from work tomorrow. I haven't been practicing like I should be and it'll be awhile before he picks up Korean."

"Oh don't go crazy," Kun said, "he's young.  I'm sure he'll pick it up in no time. Plus he has two amazing teachers now so I'm sure it'll be sooner than you think."  Kun was actually excited to teach Chenle Korean. He didn't have anyone to help him when he moved and it was quite difficult at first and he didn't want that for their son.

"I should be able to speak Mandarin," Taeyong said firmly, "for you and for him. You're constantly translating yourself for me, and it's about time that I return that favor."

Kun smiled at Taeyong's determination.  "If you insist but it's really okay. I can help you with a few simple phrases if you want," Kun said.  He appreciated the effort Taeyong wanted to put in but learning a new language was a lot of work and there was almost no point if they were going to be teaching Chenle Korean.

"Thanks, babe," Taeyong said, leaning over to kiss Kun's cheek. He was glad that Kun was willing to help. The idea of trying to learn Mandarin on his own was daunting, to say the least.

Kun took Taeyong's hand in his own and squeezed it.  Eventually they arrived back at the apartment and Kun was itching to let Chenle explore.  "I can grab Chenle's stuff if you want to get him," Kun said as he got out of the car.

Taeyong nodded and rounded the car to get Chenle out of his car seat. The boy seemed curious about what he was, but Taeyong didn't know how to tell him that this was his new home.

Kun grabbed Chenle's bag; he didn't have much in it, only a few pairs of clothes and some toys.  He saw Chenle's confused and almost hesitant expression and quickly explained that this was the new home he was talking about.  The toddler perked up and Kun unlocked the door and swung it open. "Wanna explore?" he asked Chenle, who eagerly nodded.

Taeyong set Chenle down and watched as the boy eagerly ran off to explore. They had spent the last week baby proofing the apartment, so there was nothing potentially dangerous that the boy could get into. "He's really home," he said to Kun, smiling.

"I know," Kun said excitedly, "I didn't think this day was ever going to come."  He kissed Taeyong gently, not wanting to get too distracted. "I'm gonna put this bag in his room and then get started on some dinner.  Do you want to keep an eye on him?" Kun asked. He knew Chenle would be fine considering they had triple checked all the child locks before they left, but he was still nervous.

"You've been cooking a lot lately," Taeyong said, gently lifting the backpack from Kun's hand, "let me take over tonight."

"Thanks, babe.  If you want any help call me," Kun said as he headed off to find Chenle.  He wasn't surprised to find the boy sitting in the middle of his room happily playing with a couple of toy cars. "What do you think?" Kun asked the toddler as he walked into the room and sat next to him. "Like it," came Chenle's reply and Kun was almost taken aback.  He hadn't expected the toddler to warm up so soon but he was grateful and relieved.

Taeyong set the backpack right outside of Chenle's room and disappeared into the kitchen to start dinner. He had decided to make a simple hotpot; he made it for Kun whenever he got homesick and had gotten pretty good at it.

Kun happily played with Chenle.  He didn't get more than a few "vroom vrooms" from the boy as he raced the cars around the room, but Kun was happy nonetheless.  He sat back and watched Chenle fondly. The fact that he had a son was incredibly surreal and it still hadn't fully sunk in yet.

In no time, Taeyong had the hotpot on the table and was calling Kun and Chenle for dinner. He grabbed the booster seat they'd bought out of the closet and set it up on one of the chairs for the boy.

"Come on it's time to go eat," Kun said when he heard Taeyong calling for them.  Chenle didn't quite want to give up his car just yet but Kun convinced him that it would be there when he got back. After coaxing him out of the bedroom, Kun brought Chenle to the kitchen and helped him sit in his booster. "Smells good in here," Kun commented.  He absolutely adored when Taeyong made hotpot and was actually quite proud at how good he had gotten.

"Dig in," Taeyong announced happily as he took his own seat. He was just so excited to finally have Chenle home with them. Every moment felt like a milestone.

Kun slid into the seat next to Chenle and helped the boy eat, laughing when more of the food ended up on his shirt than in his mouth.  He hummed happily when he finally took his own bite. "This is delicious. Thank you for cooking," he said, not taking his eyes off Chenle.

"Of course," Taeyong said as he ate his own helping. Chenle would definitely need a bath after this meal, but at least he seemed to be enjoying it. Taeyong suspected that the familiar food helped ease the transition.

"Bath time," Kun announced when they were done eating.  He quickly repeated himself when Chenle looked confused.  After putting their plates in the sink, he helped the dirty toddler out of his booster.  "Coming?" he asked Taeyong.

"I'll clean up here first," Taeyong said, knowing that he wouldn't be willing to do it if he just let the dishes sit. He started rinsing the plates and putting them in the dishwasher as Kun and Chenle disappeared down the hall.

Kun sat on the edge of the tub, letting Chenle poke around the small bathroom as the tub slowly filled with warm water.  Once that was all set, he scooped the toddler up and helped him into the tub. He laughed along with Chenle as the toddler splashed around in the water.  Kun was happy to let Chenle play until he got pruny; as long as the toddler was happy, he was happy.

Once Taeyong was done with the dishes, he stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched Chenle play around in the water. "You're gonna spoil the daylights out of this kid," he commented.

"I can't help it," Kun said quietly, "He's just so cute and who knows what he's been through."  Sure they had only been home for a few hours, but Taeyong was right; Kun was absolutely going to spoil Chenle to no end.

"He definitely deserves it," Taeyong agreed, "but he's getting wrinkly and he's been travelling all day. I think it's bedtime." He grabbed a towel from the linen closet and handed it to Kun.

Kun nodded in agreement and quickly wiped the last remaining remnants of dinner from Chenle's cheek before picking the toddler up out of the tub and wrapping him in the towel.  He held Chenle on his lap for a moment, while the tub slowly drained. In the meantime, he helped Chenle brush his teeth and then carried the toddler to his room. Kun changed him into the softest pajamas they bought for him and then set him down.  "Alright it's bedtime," he announced, which earned him a pout followed promptly by a yawn.   

Taeyong simply watched as Kun handled their son with the utmost care and gentleness. It was obvious how in love with Chenle he was already and Taeyong couldn't be happier.

After teaching Chenle how to say "good night" in Korean he laid the toddler down in the bed.  Thankfully he fell asleep quickly and Kun hoped he slept through the night. Over the next few days, they slowly ironed out a routine.  Kun was grateful that Ten was willing to help them out while he and Taeyong were at work and despite his previous reservations, his best friend had lived up to his expectations.  He had learned a lot of Mandarin for Kun when they first met so he was easily able to communicate with the toddler and Chenle absolutely adored him.

Taeyong was glad that they had Ten around to help during the day, but he was beginning to get a little frustrated. Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but Kun and Chenle were somewhat monopolizing each other. Taeyong was still getting sick, which meant he wasn't able to spend as much time with Chenle as he liked, but it had lead to Kun barely spending any time away from the baby at all. Taeyong would never begrudge the boy any affection, but he missed his fiancé.

Kun loved coming home from work because it meant not only did he get to see Taeyong but Chenle as well.  He didn't think he would ever get used to going home to his family. Kun called out his usual greeting as he stepped in the door and was almost tackled by Chenle latching onto his legs.  "Hi there," he said with a chuckle. "Come look," the toddler said eagerly as he latched onto Kun's hand and pulled him down the hall.

Taeyong had been laying in bed since he got home. He'd had another appointment, and while everything had gone well, he still wasn't feeling great. He had set Chenle up at his desk in the corner of the room to color, while Taeyong simply laid in bed and dozed off.

Kun smiled when he saw Taeyong asleep in the middle of their bed.  He felt bad that he was still sick but there wasn't much he could do other than wait for the test results.  Since Taeyong was still feeling under the weather, that meant that Kun was almost entirely responsible for Chenle, which he wasn't complaining about; he already loved the toddler.  "That looks great, Lele!" he whispered encouragingly when he saw the toddler's picture. Chenle beamed and crawled back into his chair to keep coloring.

“He probably needs more paper soon,” Taeyong mumbled, cracking eyes open. He was glad to know that Kun was home; he would no longer have to keep himself awake.

"Alright I'll get him some," Kun said.  After getting more paper for Chenle, he gave Taeyong a quick kiss before disappearing into the bathroom.  He didn't want to take a shower while Taeyong was sleeping, but he at least wanted to get changed out of his work clothes.

Taeyong could hear Kun enter the bathroom and rolled over with a groan. Keeping his sleepy eyes on Chenle, he smiled softly. The boy was really so cute.

Once Kun had gotten changed he made his way back to the bedroom.  Keeping an eye on Chenle, who was happily coloring, he crawled into bed.  With a sigh he sat down next to Taeyong, and positioned himself so that he could watch the toddler.

Taeyong sighed and shifted closer to Kun. “How was your day?” he mumbled.

"Pretty good," Kun said, slightly distracted, "nothing too exciting happened."  His day had been typical but nothing to write home about. His mouth curled into a smile as he watched Chenle fondly; he couldn't believe how absolutely in love he was with his son already.

Taeyong sighed and shuffled closer. Kun was still sitting up, so he laid his head on the younger’s thigh.

Kun’s hand absentmindedly combed itself through Taeyong’s faded red hair.  Chenle eventually grew bored of coloring and announced that he was going to get his cars as he hopped off the chair.  “Ok, baby, we’ll be right here,” Kun said as the toddler disappeared from the room.

“Ten said Chenle was good today,” Taeyong mumbled, popping the hearing aid out of his ear that was pressed to Kun’s thigh. He turned it off and dropped it in his fiancé’s lap.

“Oh that’s good.  I figured he would be.  He’s growing quite fond of Ten,” Kun said.  He looked down when he felt something drop into his lap.  Chenle had elected to stay in his room so Kun took this opportunity to spend a few minutes with Taeyong.

Taeyong hummed. “Johnny says hi,” he said. He’d gone to get lunch with his best friend after the appointment. Johnny was considerably disappointed that he still hadn’t said anything to Kun, but he hadn’t pushed the issue.

“Oh I haven’t see Johnny hyung in a while.  We should have him over soon to meet Chenle,” Kun said.  It dawned on him that Yuta hadn’t met Chenle either but he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to have all three of them over together.

“We should,” Taeyong agreed with a yawn. He groaned as his stomach clenched. He’d thrown up shortly after getting home and was still feeling achy.

“Still not feeling good?” Kun asked when he heard Taeyong groan, “Have you taken any medication today?”  He had been so busy keeping an eye on Chenle that he hadn’t really had a chance to check on Taeyong.

Taeyong nodded in answer to both questions. He’d taken his pills when he’d gotten home, which was why he was just feeling gross instead of actively throwing up.

Kun sighed and moved his hand from Taeyong’s hair to his back.  He sat there for a few moments reveling in the quiet. Suddenly Chenle bounced it the room.  “I’m hungry,” he announced from the doorway. “Alright let’s get you some dinner,” Kun said. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured as he gently shifted Taeyong off his lap and stood up to follow Chenle into the kitchen.

Taeyong tucked a pillow under his head instead and finally let himself fall asleep. Now that Kun was home, there was another set of eyes on Chenle and Taeyong didn’t need to fight his own sleepiness.

Chenle watched in amazement as Kun bustled around the kitchen.  Kun couldn’t wait until Chenle got bigger so he could teach the toddler how to cook.  He didn’t expect Taeyong to want to eat anything so he made a mental note to make soup over the weekend for him.  It had been decided relatively quickly that bath time happened immediately after dinner so Kun scooped up Chenle when he was done eating and carried him into the bathroom.

A few days later, Taeyong was still feeling gross, but he forced himself to get out of bed and do some work. He’d recently been promoted to purchasing manager and had neglected to do his inventories in favor of laying in bed. On Saturday, he gave Kun and Chenle some time to nap, while he sat on the couch and did his work. Thinking Kun would keep Chenle in bed with him, he took his aids out to focus.

Kun’s week was longer than he thought and by Saturday he was exhausted.  When Chenle went down for his afternoon nap, Kun also took the opportunity to fall asleep.   He knew Taeyong was on the couch so he wasn’t worried if he slept long. Well he wasn’t worried until he woke up to Chenle wailing.   He leapt out of bed and ran into the toddler’s room. “What’s wrong, Lele?” he asked, making his way over to the toddler’s bed. “Bad dream,” Chenle mumbled as clambered into Kun’s lap.  “Wanna go watch a movie?” Kun asked as he stood up. Chenle nodded, still whimpering. Kun was surprised to see Taeyong, seemingly unbothered typing away when he walked into the living room.  “Tae, why didn’t you check on Chenle?” he asked as he approached the couch. He knew they still weren’t able to communicate well, but he didn’t think that Taeyong would ignore their son completely.

Taeyong couldn’t hear Kun approach, so he was surprised when his fiancé was suddenly in front of him. He was holding Chenle, who looked like he’d just been crying. Taeyong quickly jammed his aids in his ears and turned them on, wincing at the moment of feedback. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“I did,” Kun said shortly, “why did you take your aids out when you knew we were both going to be asleep?  We’re lucky I woke up or who knows how long Chenle would have been crying for.” He understood that the hearing aids were uncomfortable and it wasn’t a problem when it was just the two of them, but now that they had Chenle it was a different story.

Taeyong flinched back, surprised at the harshness in Kun’s tone. “I figured he would be with you,” he said, “he has been for every other nap this week.”

“No, I put him down on his own this time to see how he did, which obviously wasn’t a very good idea,” he said, clutching Chenle a little closer, “I know the aids are uncomfortable, but you gotta start being responsible.   We have a son now, Tae, things are different.”

“God forbid I want to focus on something for half an hour,” Taeyong griped, “What would you even do if aids didn’t work for me? Huh? Bitch at me to just get new ears?”

“I know you have work to do, but you can’t take your aids out whenever you want anymore.  Plus if the aids didn’t work for you everything would have been much different,” Kun said, annoyance lacing his tone.  He was actually frustrated. Not a lot of things bothered him, but when it came to Chenle it was different.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” There was a challenge in Taeyong’s tone, asking if Kun really wanted to go there.

Kun narrowed his eyes. He could tell Chenle was getting upset again so he set the toddler down.  “Why do you go back in your room and play cars for a little and then we can watch a movie,” Kun said gently.  The toddler quickly ran off at the promise of movie night. “Well, for starters, we probably wouldn’t have Chenle and we might not have even ever been together,” Kun replied shortly, “but that doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you need to start thinking about Chenle more and yourself less.” He didn’t know why Taeyong was so keen to argue with him. They were usually able to talk civilly about disagreements but apparently not tonight.

Taeyong was absolutely floored. “I thought my disability didn’t change your opinion of me, but I guess I was wrong,” he said coldly. He disappeared into the bedroom, fighting tears as he threw some clothes into a bag. He thought back to their first fight ever, when Kun promised he would never insult his disability again. Yanking his desk drawer, he grabbed the envelope, intending on taking it with him. If that was how Kun felt, then fine. He never needed to know.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Kun said as he followed Taeyong, “if your aids didn’t work we never would have met.”  He kept his voice low so he didn’t make Chenle any more upset. Kun stopped when he got in the doorway. “Tae, you don't need to...” He trailed off, honing in on the envelope in Taeyong’s hand.  “What is that?” he asked. He had never seen the envelope before but it must be important if Taeyong was taking it with him.

“I would have still become a history tutor regardless of whether or not I had working hearing aids,” Taeyong said, fully angry now. Did Kun think he wouldn’t have gone to college if he didn’t have the little devices? Either way, it frustrated him that the younger was so upset over this. Obviously, he would’ve never left his aids out while alone with Chenle. All he was doing was trying to support his family. “It’s nothing you need to worry about,” he snapped, “now get out of my way. I’m going to Johnny’s.”

Kun didn’t move from his spot in the doorway.  “I thought we agreed not to hide anything from each other,” he challenged, “but go.  Run to Johnny. He’ll know what to do; he always does. I bet he even knows what’s in the envelope.”  Kun’s voice had taken on a sarcastic tone. They had gotten so good at communicating over the years so what happened all of the sudden?

“You wanna know what’s in it so badly? Then fucking take it.” Taeyong whipped the envelope at Kun, barely missing his lover’s face. He shoved past the younger and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Kun’s just barely caught the envelope and he winced when he heard the apartment door slam.  Oh, he had really messed up. Slowly he walked towards the bed and slid the envelope open. He pulled the contents out and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he read the documents.  With a sigh, he dropped onto the bed and read the documents over one more time to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. This couldn’t be right, could it? It had to be; there was no other explanation.  From Taeyong’s odd behavior down to him not feeling well, Kun wasn’t sure how he hadn’t figured it out earlier. He tossed the envelope to the side and ran his hands through his hair.

Taeyong didn’t make it very far. In fact, he didn’t even make it out of the building. Instead, he sat on a bench in the lobby, doing his best not to cry. He had really fucked up. From risking Chenle getting hurt to hiding things from Kun, the guilt was overwhelming. He didn’t want to go to Johnny though. The older man had dealt with him enough.

Kun was pulled from his thoughts by a small hand on his knee.  “Movie?” Chenle asked peering up at him. “Sure thing, baby,” Kun said with a soft smile.  He grabbed Taeyong’s laptop and put on a Disney movie for Chenle. The toddler happily laid the middle of the bed with his chin in his hands.  Meanwhile Kun put the contents of the envelope back inside and threw the whole thing on the desk. He sent a text to Johnny said that Taeyong was on his way over and to please keep an eye on him.  After that he crawled into bed next to Chenle, but his mind wasn’t on the movie or the toddler.

Johnny was confused by Kun’s message. He’s gotten it nearly half an hour ago, but Taeyong hadn’t shown up, nor had he contacted him. “He isn’t here,” he finally texted back.

Kun absolutely panicked when he got Johnny’s message.  He had no idea where Taeyong had gone or if he was even ago. Foregoing texting, he called Taeyong. He would never be able to forgive himself if Taeyong got hurt because of some careless words Kun had said.

Taeyong sat in the lobby, wallowing. He’d left his phone in the apartment, but he was too much of a coward to go get it. Not that he would be able to leave again if he went back up there anyway. He just couldn’t bring himself to face Kun yet.

Kun nearly lost it when he heard Taeyong’s phone buzzing from somewhere in their apartment.  He texted Johnny back explaining that Taeyong said he was going over and that he had no idea where the elder was now.  Kun felt bad worrying Johnny over something that wasn’t his problem but he didn’t know what else to do. He debated taking Chenle with him and going to look for Taeyong, but Seoul was a big city and he could be almost anywhere with the subway system.

If Johnny knew Taeyong at all, he knew the younger man wouldn’t have gone far. If he had said he was going to Johnny’s, had left his phone home, and hadn’t made it across the city, chances were he hadn’t even left the building, and he told Kun as much.

Kun thanked Johnny profusely and headed to the bedroom to get Chenle.  “Come on, baby, were going to look for Taeyong. You can finish the movie when we get back,” he said.  Chenle reluctantly crawled to the edge of the bed so Kun could help him to the floor. With Chenle’s hand in his own Kun made his way into the hallway.  They did a round of their floor but to no avail. Kun was growing more and more anxious as the minutes ticked by. Eventually they made their way down to the lobby and Kun nearly sobbed in relief when he saw Taeyong sitting on a bench.   “Oh my God, Tae. I thought you got hurt,” he cried as he made his way over to his fiancé as quickly as possible.

Taeyong looked up in surprise when he heard Kun. He hadn’t expected the younger man to come looking for him at all. He stood up and hugged his fiancé tightly.

Kun wrapped his arms around Taeyong and held him close for a few moments.  “Come on let’s get you back upstairs,” he said gently. He guided his family back to their apartment and once Chenle was settled back in bed watching his movie, Kun headed back to the living room.  “I’m so sorry for getting upset,” he said sincerely, “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. That wasn’t fair.”

“I shouldn’t have taken my hearing aids out,” Taeyong said, shaking his head, “I wasn’t thinking and Chenle could’ve gotten hurt. You were right; I was being selfish.”

Kun felt a pang of guilt at Taeyong’s words.  “We both had our faults and I think we know what to do moving forward,” he said, “but right now we have something more important to talk about.”

Taeyong sighed. He didn’t want to talk about it, but obviously they had to. “I was scared,” he said, “that’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“Scared of what?” Kun asked slightly confused.  If anything he was more upset that Taeyong had waited so long to tell him.  “I wish I knew sooner,” he admitted.

“We had just found out about Chenle when I found out for sure and I didn’t want this to conflict with that,” Taeyong explained, curling himself up, “I was gonna tell you eventually.”

Kun sighed softly.  He slowly reached out towards Taeyong.  “Well I know now and that’s all that matters,” he said gently, “when do you want to tell Chenle?”

“Not for a while,” Taeyong said, shaking his head, “he just got here; I don’t want him to feel like he’s being replaced or something already.”

Kun nodded in agreement.  “Who else knows?” he asked already knowing the answer.  He wasn’t upset Johnny knew before him; he was just glad Taeyong had someone to talk to about everything.

“Johnny,” Taeyong said, “my doctor, obviously. And I had to tell my boss so she won’t send me home if I get sick at work.” He felt bad that Kun wasn’t the first to know, but he had been so terrified. He still was.

Kun hummed in understanding.  Sure he wished he knew sooner and under better circumstances, but he was beyond relieved that Taeyong was okay.  “Come here,” he said gently as he scooted closer. He could see the worry written across Taeyong’s face. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Tae, I promise.  I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere,” he said gently.

Taeyong hugged Kun tightly and buried his face in his lover’s neck as a few tears dripped from his eyes. He hadn’t really let the joy of the news hit him yet, but now it was dropping on him fully. They were going to have a baby.

A million questions were flying through Kun’s head, but he pushed them away in favor of simply holding Taeyong.  He sat there silently, rubbing Taeyong’s back and letting the news slowly sink in. He knew he would want another baby eventually, but he didn’t think it would happen quite so soon.  Despite the underlying nervousness, Kun was incredibly excited.

“I had my second appointment the other day,” Taeyong said, voice muffled, “you should come to the next one.”

Kun froze as he realized he had completely forgotten that Taeyong had another doctor’s appointment.  “How did it go?” he asked nervously, “I’m so sorry I forgot and I won’t miss the next one for the world.”  He pulled Taeyong a little closer.

“I’m ten weeks down and almost through with the morning sickness,” Taeyong said tentatively. He wasn’t sure how happy Kun actually was about this.

“Ten weeks,” Kun breathed.  Between bringing Chenle home and their baby coming they really were getting the family they’ve always wanted.  “I’m so glad Chenle’s gonna have a little sibling to grow up with,” he added excitedly. All he could think of were two small kids tearing through their apartment.

“The next appointment is in three weeks,” Taeyong said shyly. He wasn’t sure if Kun wanted to come along, or if he even could, but he could at least let him know about it.

“I want to go,” Kun said immediately, “I’ll get the day off and make sure Ten can watch Chenle.”  He was absolutely determined to be a part of everything from now on.

“You don’t have to,” Taeyong said uncertainly. He would love for Kun to be there, but he didn’t want his fiancé to go out of his way if he didn’t need to. He knew his own working schedule was a lot more flexible.

“I want to,” Kun reiterated, “I want to be around for everything.  I have plenty of personal time and I can take a sick day if needed.  I’m going to be there.” He took Taeyong’s hand and squeezed it gently.

“Good,” Taeyong said, relieved. Even after all their time together, he still had trouble believing that Kun really liked him, especially after the fight they’d just had.

Kun hummed, content to just hold Taeyong.  He knew Chenle would be occupied with the movie for a little while longer so he wasn’t worried about the toddler.  “Are you excited?” he asked quietly. He knew there were a lot of emotions flying around, but he couldn’t help asking.

“I am,” Taeyong said with a nod, “I’m worried, obviously, but I’m happy.” The baby would be a good thing, but he was worried about not being as involved with Chenle.

Kun hummed again, this time in understanding.  “I’m scared too, but we’re in this together. Everything’s going to be okay and I’ll be by your side through it all,” he said.  Kun knew it wasn’t that easy, but he hoped he could at least calm Taeyong’s nerves a little.

Taeyong smiled and settled into Kun’s hold. He loved being close to his fiancé like this. “Let’s go finish the movie with Chenle,” he said.

“Alright,” Kun agreed. He sat there for a minute, simply enjoying holding Taeyong, before regretfully standing up.  He didn’t let go of Taeyong’s hand and guided his fiancé down the hallway. Chenle was still laying in the middle of the bed, happily engrossed in his movie.

Taeyong carefully sat on the bed. He picked Chenle up, settling the boy on his lap before grabbing the laptop and setting it on his legs. “How’s your movie, Lele?”

“Good,” Chenle replied simply. He situated himself comfortably on Taeyong’s lap, never taking his eyes off the laptop.  Movies were the toddler’s favorite pastime and one of the first Korean words he had picked up. Kun smiled as he watched Chenle snuggle up to Taeyong.  He climbed into bed next to the pair and laid on his side so that he could watch them. For the first time that afternoon, Kun took a deep breath and let himself relax.  He was still trying to wrap his head around everything, but as long as he had his family by his side he knew everything would be okay. 


	4. Chapter 4

Taeyong was nervous. Realistically, he shouldn’t be, but this was the first time Kun was going to be seeing their baby. That was a weird thought. _Their_ baby. When the nurse finally came out and called his name, he squeezed Kun’s hand tightly. Here went nothing.

Kun could barely contain his excitement.  He had spent the past few weeks counting down the days until the appointment.  He could tell Taeyong was nervous and he didn't let go of his fiancé's hand as they followed the nurse down the hallway.

Once the nurse had left them alone in the exam room, Taeyong hopped up on the table and laid back. “Are you excited?” he asked his fiancé.

Kun nodded quickly.  "Incredibly. I never thought in a million years I would be here.  I just hope everything's okay," he said. He didn't want to scare Taeyong, but he couldn't help feeling nervous.  Even though it was still early there was so much that could go wrong.

“I do too,” Taeyong said, worrying at his lip, “I was trying to figure out how big the baby is and whatnot and there’s still so much that could happen. It’s so small.”

Kun couldn't help but smile.  Taeyong had been constantly reading books he had gotten from work and scouring websites trying to find out everything he could.  It was adorable and listening to him ramble about the size of the baby and what it could do made Kun that much more excited. "There is a lot that can happen, but I'm going to take good care of both of you to make sure everything is perfect," he said leaning over to kiss Taeyong's cheek gently.

“All four of us,” Taeyong corrected. Kun had to take care of himself and Chenle as well, especially as Taeyong got more and more...well, pregnant.

"Yes, yes, all four of us," Kun revised, "speaking of Chenle, how do you want to tell him?"  The toddler still wasn't able to communicate well with Taeyong, but he had been learning Korean words here and there.  And with Taeyong starting to show, Kun knew it wouldn't be long until the toddler picked up on it and started asking questions.

“We should gauge how he’s going to react first,” Taeyong said, “ask him if he even wants a sibling to begin with. I don’t want him to feel replaced or pushed aside.”

Kun nodded.  "I don't think he will be.  Well at least I hope he doesn't feel that way," he said.  Luckily the toddler had been relatively easy going thus far.  He had adjusted well, but they still had no idea how he would feel about the baby.

“We can worry about that when we get home,” Taeyong said as the door opened and the doctor walked in.

Kun hummed in agreement and turned his attention to the doctor, quickly greeting them.  He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face and tightened his grip on Taeyong’s hand.     

Taeyong unbuttoned his pants and hiked his shirt up, mentally preparing himself for the cold ultrasound gel. That first contact never seemed to get easier.

Kun’s eyes darted from Taeyong to the ultrasound machine the doctor just turned on.  “It’s going to be a little cold,” the doctor warned as they grabbed the bottle of gel, “but you know the drill.”

“The baby’s about the size of a large lemon,” the doctor explained, moving the wand a bit to try and get a better visual, “everything appears healthy. How about you, Taeyong-ssi? Still dealing with morning sickness?” Taeyong nodded sadly.

Kun had to drag his eyes away from the monitor to look at his fiancé.  The last few weeks had been absolutely miserable for him and Kun felt bad that there was nothing he could do.  “You are at the tail end of your first trimester so you should start feeling much better within the next few days,” the doctor said.   

“Good,” Taeyong said, relieved. So far, his pregnancy had consisted of him puking his brains out and not much else. Even Chenle had noticed how sick he had been.

Kun was glad to hear that Taeyong would be feeling better soon, being so sick had taken a lot out of him.  "And everything is okay?" he asked nervously. He knew the doctor had already said the baby was healthy, but he wanted to be absolutely positive.  

“Everything is great,” the doctor said, “would you two like a picture of the baby before I put the machine away?” Taeyong nodded eagerly. He was planning on making a little timeline using all the ultrasound pictures.

“Yes, please,” Kun said as the doctor repositioned the wand so they would have a clear picture of their baby.  He kept his eyes glued to the monitor until the doctor finally shut it off. After the doctor had taken the picture and shut the machine down, he wiped the excess gel from Taeyong’s abdomen.

The doctor handed Taeyong the picture and he handed it straight to Kun. The younger man was so enamored with the image of their baby; there was no way Taeyong would keep him from looking more.

Kun took the ultrasound picture from Taeyong carefully, almost afraid to rip it.  He knew that was ridiculous, but he couldn’t help being extra cautious. After the doctor had given Taeyong his final instructions and bid them goodbye, Kun helped his fiancé off the examination table.  The whole walk back to the car Kun had Taeyong’s hand held tightly in his own, his eyes trained on the picture in his hand. He finally handed the picture back to the elder when they got in the car.

“They might be able to identify the sex at the next visit,” Taeyong said conversationally as he placed the photo in his lap, “would you want to do that?”

“I don’t think I want to know,” Kun admitted, “we knew everything about Chenle. I kinda want this baby to be a surprise.”  He wouldn’t really mind if Taeyong wanted to find out; as long as he and the baby were healthy that was all Kun cared about.

“Should we start to tell people then?” Taeyong asked excitedly. At the moment, the only people that knew were his boss and Johnny. He was excited to let the world know. At the very least, he should tell Mark.

“If you’re ready.  We can start with Ten,” Kun said happily.  His best friend was already at their apartment, keeping an eye on Chenle for them.  “Although that might not be a good idea until Chenle knows. You know how Ten is about keeping secrets,” he reconsidered.   

“We can tell Mark, Ducky, and Renjun,” Taeyong suggested, “and maybe your parents?” Kun had finally reconnected with his parents a while back and while Taeyong was still hesitant around them, it was good that the younger man had a connection to home again.   

“We could have them over for dinner later this week and tell them then if you want.  Mark is gonna be so excited,” Kun said. He was hesitant to tell his parents about the new baby considering he hadn’t even told them about Chenle.  He had planned on waiting until Chenle got a little older and then taking a family vacation to visit, but that was certainly out of the question for a while.  “I don’t know about my parents,” he said softly.

“We could just have them over tonight,” Taeyong said. There wasn’t much point in waiting and he was really excited to tell his brother. He didn’t think Mark had met Chenle yet either.

Kun smiled, he could hear the excitement dripping from Taeyong’s voice.  “Text them right now and see if they’re free tonight,” Kun said. He was excited to tell everyone about the baby, but he was still nervous about Chenle.  What would they do if the toddler doesn’t want a sibling?

Taeyong happily whipped out his phone and texted Mark. The younger boy was notoriously bad at checking his phone, so he pocketed it again, estimating an hour wait til he heard back from him. “Are we gonna bring it up to Lele when we get home?” he asked.

“We can,” Kun said slowly, “we are going to have to tell him eventually.  I just...I just hope he doesn’t get too upset. He hasn’t been with us that long.”  Kun knew there was nothing they could do if Chenle didn’t want a sibling, but he wanted his son to be happy.

“Even if he doesn’t want a sibling, he doesn’t have much choice,” Taeyong said, “it’ll just be easier to involve him in the process if he wants a sibling than if he doesn’t want anything to do with them.”

Kun nodded in agreement.  “It definitely will be. Alright we can tell him today before Mark and Duck come over,” he said finally.   And with that they pulled in the driveway. Kun took a deep breath and squeezed Taeyong’s hand before stepping out of the car.

Taeyong held the photo gingerly as he made his way inside the apartment building next to Kun. They rode the elevator up in silence and were quickly opening the door to the apartment. Chenle came sprinting out toward them, Ten jogging behind him, babbling in Chinese as he clung to Kun’s legs. Taeyong’s heart clenched and he disappeared to put the photo away before Ten or Chenle could get their hands on it.

“Hi, baby.  How was your day?” Kun asked as he scooped the toddler into his arms.  “Fun! Gone long time,” Chenle said, staring at Kun curiously. Kun chuckled, watching Ten raise an eyebrow. “We were but we’re home now.  How was he?” he asked turning his attention to Ten. Chenle began wiggling to be put down, but Kun kept a tight grip on his son, not wanting to risk him finding Taeyong yet.  “Perfect as always,” Ten replied.

Taeyong pouted as he left the bedroom. He could hear the other three talking in Chinese and it made him feel left out. With a soft sigh, he went through the living room straight to the kitchen for some water.

Kun heard Taeyong leave the bedroom and finally set Chenle down.  “Go find Taeyong and have him come out here and say goodbye,” he said. The toddler nodded and went running towards the kitchen.  “Come, come,” Chenle said in Korean as he reached his arms out to Taeyong when he had found him.

Taeyong set his glass on the counter and picked Chenle up, settling the energetic boy in his arms and leaving the kitchen. “You’re heading out, Tennie?”

Chenle wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s neck and rested his head on his father’s shoulder.  Kun smiled when he saw Taeyong walked in with Chenle happily snuggled into his arms. “Yeah, I have to work the night shift tonight,” Ten replied with a face, “how are you feeling?  Any better?”

“A bit,” Taeyong said, “hopefully I should be all better within the week.” His nausea had already begun to settle a bit, but it was always a waiting game. “Have fun at work, Tennie. Lele, say bye!”

“That’s good to hear!  Oh yeah, I’ll be sure too.  See you guys later. Bye, Lele,” Ten said waving at the toddler.  Kun thanked Ten again and after bidding his best friend goodbye, he locked the door behind him.  “Has Mark responded yet?” he asked, not so subtly stalling.

“No, but you know what he’s like,” Taeyong said, “give it another half an hour.” He really hoped his brother would be available. He didn’t like keeping secrets from him.

Kun nodded.  Chenle stared up at Kun, waiting patiently for a translation.  “Uncle Mark might be coming for dinner,” he explained. The toddler perked up.  “Play?” he asked, picking his head up to look at Taeyong. Kun smiled, despite the language barrier, Chenle absolutely adored Taeyong.  

“Talk first,” Taeyong said in his choppy Mandarin. He, of course, wouldn’t be able to do the talking, but that was a separate problem.

Chenle looked between Kun and Taeyong slightly confused.  “Trouble?” he asked, staring wide-eyed up at Taeyong.

“No, no,” Taeyong said quickly, “Kunnie, tell him we just have a question to ask him.”

“No, Lele, you aren’t in trouble,” Kun explained softly, “we just have a question to ask.”  Chenle relaxed when he realized he wasn’t in trouble and watched Kun closely. Kun took a deep breath, “would you like a little brother or sister to play with?”  He hoped that the prospect of a new playmate would make Chenle more open to the idea.

Taeyong looked between Chenle and Kun. He had no idea what point they were at in their conversation, but he was nervous either way.

Kun repeated himself in Korean so Taeyong could be involved in the conversation.  “Play with me?” Chenle asked seriously. Kun couldn’t tell if the toddler was going to be upset or not so he continued slowly.  “Of course, baby, they’ll play cars with you and watch movies with you.” Kun waited with bated breath, preparing for a meltdown.

“Okay!” Chenle said happily after a minute, “play now?” He started wiggling in Taeyong’s arms, so the elder put him down to run and get his toys.

Kun let out the breath he was holding.  “That went well,” he said happily. He had never been more glad for the toddler’s short attention span.

“Thank god,” Taeyong said, collapsing onto the couch behind him, “I was so worried for a minute there. He really took his time considering.” In the other room, he heard his phone go off.

“Me too, but I’m glad he’s okay with it.  I’ll grab your phone,” Kun said. He peeked into Chenle’s room, happily smiling when he saw the boy playing without a care in the world.  He snagged Taeyong’s phone from their desk and brought it back to his fiancé.

Taeyong took his phone from Kun and read the message on the screen. “Mark, Ducky, and Renjun are on their way over now,” he said happily, “I guess you might as well tell Ten too.”

“Oh wonderful.  I doubt Ten will want to come back out if he has to work tonight, but I’ll see if Chenle wants to tell him tomorrow,” Kun said, “Do you need anything before I start cooking?”  He felt bad badgering Taeyong so often with the same question, but he wanted to make sure his fiancé was as comfortable as possible.

“Will you be okay if I take my aids out for a little bit?” Taeyong asked. His ears were starting to get sore and itchy and he could already feel a headache coming on. He had learned to make sure Kun knew when he couldn’t hear after the incident a few weeks ago.

“Yeah absolutely.  I’ll keep an eye on Chenle,” Kun said.  He still felt guilty about the argument, but it had led them to communicating better about Taeyong taking his aids out.

“Thanks, baby,” Taeyong said as he took the hearing aids out and turned them off. He rubbed at the inside of his ears, trying to dissipate the tension there.

Kun leaned down to steal a quick kiss before going to peak on Chenle.  “Lele, I’m gonna be in the kitchen.” The toddler was too distracted by his toys to respond.   With that Kun disappeared into the kitchen to cook dinner for the six of them.

"Make something mild please!" Taeyong called after Kun before laying down on his side on the couch. Although he was barely showing, all the stomach issues had him feeling bloated all the time.

Kun smiled; he was glad Taeyong was willing to eat something even if it was light.  About ten minutes later, Chenle poked his head into the kitchen, “help?” “Sure thing, baby,” Kun said.  He set the boy up at the kitchen table with an empty mixing bowl and a wooden spoon, far away from the hot stove.

It wasn't long before Taeyong fell asleep on the couch. He had one pillow shoved under his head and the other between his thighs to try and straighten his hips. He heard it would help with pain down the road.

Kun has just switched the stove off when the doorbell rang.  “Lele, can you clean up all your toys, please? You can finish helping me after,” he said as he walked into the living room.  The toddler nodded and ran off down the hall. Kun hated bothering Taeyong when he was sleeping, but he knew he had to wake him up.   He gently shook his fiancé’s shoulder and waited for him to open his eyes before signing, “They’re here.”

Taeyong woke up slowly and couldn’t really see what Kun was signing, but he knew his fiancé wouldn’t have woken him up unless his brother had arrived. Blindly, he reached for his aids and shoved them in his ears. “I’m up,” he mumbled, not moving.

Kun chuckled and went to open the door.  After greeting Mark, Haechan, and Renjun he led them into the kitchen.  "Lele, do you want to come say hi?" he called down the hallway.

Chenle creeped into the kitchen cautiously. He didn't know who these new people were and they probably spoke the other words, the ones Taeyong baba used. "Hi," he said shyly.

"This is Chenle," Kun said proudly, scooping the shy toddler into his arms, "he doesn't know a ton of Korean yet, but we're working on it."  He quickly explained who Mark, Haechan, and Renjun were to the toddler. "Taeyong should be in in a minute," he added as he repositioned the toddler on his hip so he could hold him with one hand and finish dinner with the other.

Renjun approached Chenle cautiously, introducing himself in Chinese. The boy perked up and responded shyly to his question. After a few more sentences exchanged, Chenle was wiggling to get out of Kun's hold and go play with Renjun.

Kun put Chenle down, happy that the toddler warmed up to Renjun so quickly.  He chuckled as the toddler practically dragged Renjun down the hallway. "So how has everything been with you guys?" he asked Mark and Haechan conversationally.

“It’s been good,” Mark said with a nod as Taeyong finally trudged into the kitchen. “Hey, kiddo,” the older man mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Kun smiled when Taeyong finally entered the room.  "I’m gonna go rescue Renjun from Chenle," he said with a small chuckle.  He quickly wrangled Chenle, but only with the promise that he could play with Renjun after dinner.  Soon enough they were all seated around the table happily eating. Kun wasn't quite sure how Taeyong wanted to bring up the baby so he focused on helping Chenle eat instead.

Taeyong didn’t eat much. He was starting to feel nauseous again, and his nerves didn’t help.  Finally, he put his chopsticks down and cleared his throat. “We have an announcement,” he said slowly.

Kun turned away from Chenle.  He reached over and took Taeyong’s hand in his own.  “Tell ‘em, babe,” he said encouragingly. If Chenle had been excited about the news he had no doubt that everyone else would be too.

“Chenle’s going to have a sibling,” Taeyong announced nervously. He wished he had thought to bring the picture to the table with him.

Kun stood up when he saw Mark, Haechan, and Renjun’s slightly confused expressions.  He rummaged around in the desk drawer until he found the ultrasound picture. “We’re going to have a baby,” he said when he reentered the kitchen and placed the picture in the middle of the table.

“Oh, hyung, that’s amazing!” Mark said, snatching the picture up, “whoa, it’s so small!” Taeyong rolled his eyes fondly. His brother could be so dumb.

Kun couldn’t help but laugh.  He was glad Mark was at least excited; he knew how much that meant to Taeyong.  “That picture was taken this morning,” he added. He turned his attention back to Chenle to explain what they told the others and what the picture was.  “Wanna see,” he said, reaching his tiny hands out. “Not while you’re all dirty,” Kun said as he quickly wiped Chenle’s sticky hands clean.

Taeyong leaned over, pointing out to Mark where the baby’s head was and outlining the shape. “I’m only thirteen weeks, so there’s still six and a half months to go, but it’s exciting right?”

Kun watched Mark’s eyes widen in wonder.  Even Haechan and Renjun seemed curious about the baby.  He whispered what Taeyong was saying to Chenle and had to almost hold the toddler down to prevent him from trying to stand on the chair to see.

Taeyong carefully took the photo from Mark and passed it to Kun so he could show Chenle. “That’s really exciting, hyung,” Donghyuck said with a wide smile.

Kun took the ultrasound and showed Chenle.  The toddler eagerly took the picture with both hands, nearly ripping it out of Kun’s hands in his excitement.  “Careful, baby. You don’t want to rip it,” he cautioned.

Taeyong was happy to see Chenle so enamored with the ultrasound picture. The boy would definitely be a loving big brother.

Kun was going to explain everything again, but Chenle was content just to look so he kept his mouth closed.  Instead he turned to look at Taeyong, and smiled widely at his fiancé. “I’m glad you guys are excited,” he said, eyes still on his fiancé.  Seeing how excited Mark, Haechan, and Renjun were about the baby made Kun that much more eager to tell the rest of their friends.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're apologizing in advance for the next two chapters.

Taeyong regretted not taking the next day off. Kun was staying home to give Ten a break and Taeyong wished that they could have a family day. Instead, he had to go to work and announce his condition to all of his coworkers. A day with his boys sounded much better.

Kun was happy to spend the day with Chenle.  Work had been absolutely swamped lately and he was happy to have a day to relax.  He spent his day playing with Chenle, teaching the toddler some Korean, cooking Taeyong’s favorite meal, and working on a little surprise for his fiancé.  He could hardly contain his excitement for Taeyong to come home.

Taeyong was all too happy  to be heading home. He had had a long day and was ready to just cuddle with his fiancé and their son.

Chenle quickly climbed down from the kitchen chair and ran into the living room when he heard the door open.  Kun followed just behind the toddler. “Hey, babe, how was your day?” he asked, trying not to give away his excitement.

"I love you both so much but I do not want to listen to any more voices today," Taeyong groaned. For some reason, the store had been unreasonably busy, but at least he didn't have much time left there. "Hi, Lele. How was your day with Kunnie?"

Kun hummed in understanding.  “Good!” Chenle said happily, before turning to look up expectantly at Kun.  “Go ahead and show him what you learned today, baby,” Kun said quietly. Chenle turned back around to face Taeyong and stuck his hand out, tiny fingers curling to make the sign for “love” as best as he could manage.  “Love!” he exclaimed happily.

Taeyong nearly burst into tears on the spot. Controlling himself, he crouched down in front of the boy and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Lele, that made me very happy," he said. He wondered how much Kun had taught him and how much he understood about his hearing.

“You made him very happy,” Kun explained.  Chenle beamed, very proud of himself, and hugged Taeyong back.  “Go take a shower and dinner will be ready when you’re done,” Kun said softly.

"Does he know enough for me to leave my aids out after?" Taeyong asked, releasing Chenle and standing back up. He was aching to get the stupid devices out of his ears for a while. He hadn't been able to go without them as often since they'd had Chenle.

“He should.  I’ve been teaching him a few signs here and there,” Kun admitted.  He didn’t want to tell Taeyong until he was sure Chenle would understand.  He hadn’t explained everything to Chenle yet, but the toddler hadn’t asked too many questions.

"You've been teaching him from Chinese, right?" Taeyong asked as he finally set his bag down and shrugged his coat off.

Kun nodded. “Yeah, that’s been easier.  He’s picking it up faster than Korean.”  Chenle finally let go of Taeyong and waited patiently for him to take his shoes and coat off before demanding to be picked up.

Taeyong set his shoes near the door and picked Chenle up, settling the boy on his hip. "Did you give him a name sign yet?" he asked. His own was the sign for dragon, and Kun's was the sign for sword.

Chenle happily snuggled into Taeyong’s arms when he was picked up.  “Not yet, I wanted to talk to you first, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise,” Kun said, “his name means ‘bell’ so we can use that if you want.”  He smiled at Chenle, but was getting a little worried; the toddler was getting heavier and he didn’t want Taeyong to get hurt.

"I like that," Taeyong agreed. He handed the baby over to Kun. "I'll teach him that after I take a shower. I'll be right back."

Kun nodded and took Chenle.  “Come on, Lele, let’s go finish dinner while Taeyong takes a shower,” he said.  He carried the toddler back to the kitchen and got him seated in his booster seat while he waited for Taeyong.

Taeyong had wanted to take a quick shower so he could get back to his family, but he found himself staying under the warm water as long as he could. It wasn't until he started to get pruny that he finally shut the water off and dried himself off. Dressing in his pajamas, he traipsed out to the kitchen, sans hearing aids.

“You look cozy,” Kun said.  He quickly made up plates for the three of them and finally sat at the table.  “Are you ready to learn your name sign, Lele?” he asked.

Taeyong flushed slightly. Kun's compliments never ceased to get to him. He didn't think that Kun actually knew the sign for bell, so he held it out in front of him and pronounced Chenle's name.

“Try it, Lele,” Kun encouraged.  Chenle stuck out his hand and tried to copy Taeyong.  Kun had to reach over and adjust the toddler’s fingers slightly.  “Chenle!” he said happily when Kun let go.

"Yeah, Chenle!" Taeyong said, smiling. He moved his hand to a different sign, the one for sword. "Kun," he said, pointing at his fiancé.

Chenle repositioned his fingers, not without a little help from Kun.  “Kun?” he asked, looking up at his father. “Yeah, Lele,” Kun answered.  He was happy Chenle was picking up the signs relatively easily; it would certainly make it easier for him to communicate with Taeyong.

Taeyong moved his fingers into a third sign, his own. "Taeyong," he enunciated, pointing at his own chest. It warmed his heart to see Chenle trying so hard.

This time Chenle was able to make the sign without any help.  “Taeyong!” he said triumphantly. He looked back and forth between Kun and Taeyong, giggling happily when he saw their pleased expressions.

"Good job!" Taeyong said, signing along as he talked. He had mostly gotten out of the habit of doing that, but he would definitely pick it up again now that they were teaching Chenle to sign, which would in turn help him learn Korean.

Chenle beamed up at Taeyong and clapped his hands.  “Good job! Good job!” he said happily. “Alright, baby, it’s time to eat,” Kun said signing along as he spoke.

Taeyong got up and helped Kun bring their dinner to the table. He managed to wrangle Chenle into a bib and get him to start eating without being too messy. If there was one thing about this moment he wasn't going to miss, it was Chenle's messy eating habits.

“How are you feeling today?” Kun asked when Taeyong finally sat down.  He kept an eye on Chenle, there wasn’t much he could do about keeping the boy clean for now.

"Better," Taeyong said, "sore," He kept his eyes on Kun as he ate, making sure he didn't miss anything his fiancé said. That was the only downside to taking out his hearing aids.

Kun nodded.  He was glad Taeyong was feeling better after the past few weeks.  He was content to finish dinner in silence, simply enjoying the company of his family.  It was moments like this that were so surreal to Kun; he was sitting in his kitchen, eating dinner with his gorgeous fiancé, adorable son, and a baby on the way.  Kun still wasn’t sure how he was so lucky.

"Alrighty, Lele," Taeyong said, signing along, "bath time!" He scooped the boy out of his chair and carried him to the bathroom, leaving Kun to take care of the dishes.

Chenle pouted, but he didn’t resist.  Kun stood and cleaned the dishes. He forced himself not to rush so that Taeyong could have some alone time with Chenle.   When he finally finished cleaning up the kitchen, he wandered into the bathroom and stood in the doorway.

Taeyong laughed as Chenle splashed around in the bath. How they had been lucky enough to end up with this precious little boy was beyond him. Chenle was so cute.

Kun stood there silently, happily watching his fiancé and his son together.  When Chenle noticed him, he, a little too eagerly, pulled his fist out of the water to make the sign for “Kun.”   Kun smiled and tried to keep from chucking as Chenle effectively splashed Taeyong.

Taeyong spluttered as he was splashed with water, but smiled at seeing Chenle already using his new signs. This had been the best parenting idea they'd had yet.

Kun walked into the bathroom and grabbed the towel from its hook to hand to Taeyong.  “Be careful, Lele,” he said, still chuckling.

Taeyong dried off his face and reached over to drain the tub. He wrapped the towel around Chenle and lifted him out of the tub. "I'll go grab him some clothes if you can get him dried off," he said to Kun, looking up at his fiancé.

“Yeah of course.  Come here, Lele,” Kun said as he took the toddler from Taeyong.  He held Chenle close to him, while he dried him off.

Taeyong disappeared into the bathroom and pulled some pajamas out of Chenle's drawer. "Bring him in here," he called to Kun.

Kun helped the toddler brush his teeth before he carried him into his room.  After he was changed into his pajamas Kun helped him into bed. “Goodnight, Lele,” he said, signing along.  “Goodnight, Kun. Goodnight, Taeyong,” Chenle signed back, looking up at his fathers for approval.

Taeyong smiled widely and leaned down to kiss Chenle on the forehead. He was so proud of his son and how far he had come in the last few weeks. Chenle was truly incredible.

Kun was happy that Chenle was able to pick up the signs so fast.  With one last look over his shoulder he disappeared into the bathroom to get changed and washed up.  Soon enough he was tumbling into bed and snuggling up to Taeyong.

Taeyong sighed happily as he relaxed into Kun's arms. It had been such a good day. He truly didn't think it could get any better than this.

Kun smiled and wrapped a protective arm around Taeyong.  “I love you,” he whispered. He knew Taeyong had taken his aids out but he wanted to say it anyway.

Taeyong felt the humming of Kun's chest as he spoke, but he wasn't sure what he had said. Instead, he took Kun's head and pulled it to his chest, where his fiancé's name was inked over his heart.

Kun smiled and leaned his head against Taeyong’s chest.  He remembered the day his fiancé had come home and surprised him with the tattoo of his name.  He knew he would want to add Chenle and the new baby, but that would have to wait for a little while.

Taeyong didn't think he would ever not be nervous for an ultrasound appointment. Every single one was a new development with their baby, which was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. He and Kun were in the exam room now, waiting for the doctor for his sixteen week check in.

Kun held Taeyong’s hand just as he did at the last appointment.  He was excited to see how much their baby had grown and how they were doing.  What felt like hours later, the doctor finally came in and greeted them as he switched on the ultrasound machine.

Taeyong was used to the routine, but still hissed at the cold of the gel. The doctor pressed the wand to his abdomen. His face slowly morphed into a frown as he moved the wand around. "Excuse me a moment," he said, setting the wand aside and leaving the exam room. "Something's wrong, Kunnie," Taeyong said, nerves now through the roof.

Kun’s heart sank when he saw the doctor frown.  “No, no, everything’s okay, babe,” he said, not believing himself in the slightest.  He had to be strong for Taeyong, but deep down he knew his fiancé was right. There was something wrong with their baby and Kun feared the absolute worst.

"Something's _wrong_ , Kun," Taeyong said again. It took him a moment to place what exactly had been different about this ultrasound, but then it clicked. "There was no heartbeat," he said quietly, just as the doctor returned with another doctor behind him.

Kun froze.  There was no heartbeat, but maybe the doctor hadn’t turned the sound to the machine on?  That couldn’t have been in considering they heard their baby’s heartbeat immediately last time.  He looked up at the doctors, waiting with bated breath for what they were going to say. All he could hope for was the machine being broken.

The second doctor sat down and picked up the wand slowly moving it around Taeyong’s abdomen.  “Taeyong-ssi, have you experienced any extra discomfort or pain lately?” he asked.

"N-No," Taeyong said nervously, "just some nausea, but that isn't new." Sure, he had been nauseous a bit longer than he had expected to be, but all the books and websites said that was nothing to be concerned about.

The doctor nodded as he listened to Taeyong.  “As of right now, we can’t hear the baby’s heartbeat,” he began slowly, “We are going to do a full ultrasound and run a few tests before we make any definitive conclusions.  Because you are in your second trimester a miscarriage is much less likely to occur, but it is still a possibility.” The doctor shut off the machine and kept an eye on Taeyong as he explained the situation.

Taeyong was getting more and more worried with every second, and he knew that wouldn't help anything at all. The doctors bustled around, performing all their tests, then left them to wait for the results.

Kun was doing his best to help calm Taeyong down, but it was proving difficult considering how high strung his nerves were.  Eventually the doctors came back and Kun knew that their worst fear was coming true when he saw their solemn faces. “We were not able to detect a heartbeat on the full ultrasound and the blood tests have confirmed that you have had a missed miscarriage,” he explained slowly, “I’m so sorry, Taeyong-ssi. The baby is gone.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We continue to apologize.

Taeyong's brain couldn't seem to figure out how to react. He didn't cry, didn't move, simply didn't do anything. After a moment of awkward silence, the doctors left with another apology, leaving a towel so Taeyong could clean himself up. It took a few minutes, but he finally reached for the linen and dragged it across his stomach, cleaning up as best as he could. "Let's go home," he said quietly.

Kun helped Taeyong off the table and wrapped an arm around his waist so he could support him during the walk to the car. Their drive home was silent. Kun was trying to wrap his head around what happened. Their baby was gone? That couldn’t be right. The doctor said it was healthy at thirteen weeks. What happened?

Taeyong was silent on the ride home, and on the way up to their apartment. Chenle was out, spending the day with Ten, so they still had a few hours before he got home. How were they supposed to tell their son that he was no longer going to have a sibling?

Kun helped Taeyong walk to the couch and sit down. He quickly made his way into the kitchen and filled a glass of water for his fiancé. After setting it on the coffee table, Kun sat down next to Taeyong and wordlessly pulled the elder against him.

Taeyong let himself be pulled against Kun limply. The pain in his mind was unbearable and it still wasn't over. He had to go back in two days so the doctors could remove the baby's body. However, he still didn't feel anything. He was just numb.

Kun wanted to say something, anything, to comfort Taeyong, but he found that he couldn’t. A lump had formed in his throat and it was choking him. Had he not done enough to take care of Taeyong? Had the stress of their argument made the baby weaker? Kun didn’t know and it was killing him.

Taeyong couldn't take the suffocating silence anymore. He knew that Kun was hurting too, but he just wanted to be alone. Moving slowly, he pulled away from his fiancé and disappeared into the bedroom. Not even bothering to change, he got into bed, wrapped himself around a pillow, and that's when the tears came.

Kun could hear Taeyong crying and he was doing everything in his power not to break down. Struggling to keep himself together, he decided to distract himself by organizing the apartment. He knew it was a fruitless task, but he had to make sure he was okay for when Chenle got home. He didn’t want to upset their son so soon.

Taeyong sobbed harshly. He wanted Kun to come and comfort him, but at the same time he didn't. He wanted to scream and curse the world, but at the same time, he didn't. He had never felt this much grief before and he had no idea how to handle it.

Kun took a hard seat on the couch and buried his head in his hands. He could hear how distraught his fiancé was and he felt the guilt eating him alive. A lonely tear rolled down his cheek and he angrily wiped it away. Why had this happened to them? Taeyong had been so careful to take care of their baby so how did this happen? He wanted to wrap Taeyong in his arms and never let go, but he didn’t think his fiancé wanted that right now.

It felt like forever before Taeyong ran out of tears. He needed to calm down before Chenle got home; he owed that much to his son. At least they hadn't told many people. Just Johnny and Mark and Donghyuck and Renjun and Ten and Yuta and all of Taeyong's coworkers and maybe Taeyong wouldn't leave the apartment for a while. That seemed easier than dealing with all the pitying stares he would get. He was driven back to tears just thinking about it.

Kun finally dragged himself off of the couch and slowly made his way to the bedroom. He carefully opened the door and stepped just inside. He bit his cheek harshly to keep from sobbing. Taeyong was laying in the middle of the bed, staring at the wall and Kun had never seen his fiancé look so empty.

Taeyong hadn't taken his hearing aids out, so he was aware of Kun standing in the doorway. "Why us?" he finally asked, voice cracking as he started to cry again.

“Oh, babe,” Kun said quietly as he quickly made his way over to the bed. “I...I don’t know,” he finally whispered sadly. He had never hated the phrase “everything happens for a reason” more in his life because he couldn’t think of any reason why this should have happened.

Taeyong knew it had to be his fault somehow. He'd had alcohol just a few weeks into the pregnancy, albeit not much. He had lost weight from all the morning sickness and certainly his stress levels had been high. Could that have all been enough to kill their baby?

Kun sighed sadly when he saw his fiancé’s pained expression; he recognized the look of guilt all too well. He pulled Taeyong into his lap and held him close. “This isn’t your fault, Tae,” he said carefully, “I know it’s hard, but please try not to blame yourself.” He knew Taeyong was unlikely to believe him but he had to say it.

"I'm the only variable," Taeyong mumbled, "there's no other answer." Things like this didn't just happen. There was always a reason. There had to be, or it would be anarchy.

“The baby could have been sick from the beginning and we just didn’t know. There’s a lot of things that could have happened but we just don’t know for certain,” Kun said. He wrapped his arms around Taeyong, trying to comfort himself as much as his fiancé.

"They said the baby was okay," Taeyong said, tears welling up in his eyes again, "a week, Kunnie. It went from healthy to dead in a week." He still couldn't grasp how something like that could happen.

Kun sighed sadly. “I know. I know. Everything happened so fast,” he said sadly. He was really trying to keep his tone even, but he could hear how miserable he sounded. Taeyong was right. What could have happened in that short time span?

“The worst part is that I’m not gonna be able to look at Lele without getting upset,” Taeyong admitted, trying to dry his face with his sleeve. Chenle didn’t deserve to be a target of Taeyong’s grief, but he couldn’t help it. It was hard to see the child he had and think of what could have been.

“It’ll take some time. You don’t need to worry about Lele; I’ll take care of him for the time being,” Kun said. He had no idea how they were going to tell the toddler, but he didn’t want to worry about that right now. Now he needed to focus on Taeyong.

“No, no,” Taeyong said, hiccuping, “I’m his dad too. I can’t stop doing my job just because I’m sad. I was just starting to bond with him.”

“Hey, hey, take a deep breath, Tae. You need to worry about yourself right now. Chenle will understand if you need a couple of days,” Kun said gently.

Taeyong sniffled, trying to get himself under control. “He and Tennie are gonna be back soon,” he said, “I-I can’t tell them, Kunnie, I can’t.”

“I can talk to them,” Kun said quietly. As hard as telling Ten was going to be, he had no idea where to even begin with telling Chenle.

“Just Ten,” Taeyong said, wiping his face again, “not Lele, not yet. I can’t handle that right now.” Hopefully, Ten would be wise enough to tell Yuta and reach out to Johnny.

“Okay. I won’t tell Lele today,” Kun agreed. He held Taeyong tightly against him until he heard the door swing open. “Are you okay for a few minutes?” he asked gently.

Taeyong nodded. He rolled away from Kun and wrapped himself around the pillow again. He was worn out from crying, but a few stray tears continued to slip out. As long as he didn’t start sobbing again, he would be fine.

Kun sighed sadly and went into the living room to meet Ten and Chenle. “Kun baba!” Chene said excitedly running towards his father. Kun scooped the toddler up and held him closer. Ten didn’t need to ask how the appointment went; he could see it in his best friend’s eyes. “Lele, why don’t you go play in your room for a few minutes while I talk to Ten. Taeyong baba is asleep so don’t be too loud,” Kun said. Chenle nodded and headed off for his room, not thinking much of anything.

Taeyong decided he should contact Johnny. His best friend deserved to hear it from him, not from his semi-estranged ex. He couldn’t handle calling him though, so he sent him a text. “I had another appointment today.”

“What happened?” Ten asked the moment Chenle was out of earshot. “We...we lost the baby,” Kun said in a small voice. It was the most painful thing he had ever had to say and it made everything that much more real. “Kun, I’m so sorry,” Ten said sincerely as he wrapped his best friend in a hug. Kun had promised himself he wouldn’t cry, but he immediately broke down in the younger man’s arms.

“Oh! How did it go?” The excitement was obvious in Johnny’s text and Taeyong could barely stop himself from sobbing as he typed. As it was, his hands were shaking violently, and the resultant message was full of typos. “W losr he baby.” He buried his face in his pillow, trying to muffle his sobs.

Chenle was in his room when he heard sobbing. That didn’t sounds like Taeyong was asleep. He put his toys down and padded into his parents’ room. “Baba?” he asked, slightly confused when he was walked in.

Taeyong didn’t hear Chenle at first. He didn’t notice his son in the room until the boy hauled himself up on the bed and wiggled close to him. “Baba, nightmare?” he asked carefully, tiny fingers clinging to Taeyong’s shirt. Taeyong shook his head regretfully. He wished this was a nightmare. “Baba’s sad,” he said quietly, resting a hand on Chenle’s back.

“Sad? Why sad?” Chenle asked with a frown. Meanwhile Kun was pulling himself together. “Do you need anything?” Ten asked. “No, no. You do so much for us as it is,” Kun said, “I’m gonna go check on Taeyong.” “Alright, let me know if you need absolutely anything,” Ten said, giving Kun one last hug. “Thanks, Tennie.” With that Kun locked the door behind his best friend and walked back to the bedroom, sucking in a breath when he saw Chenle lying with Taeyong.

“Something sad happened,” Taeyong said, not quite knowing how to explain the situation to a two-year-old. He hadn’t even fully grasped it himself. His phone buzzed in his hand, a response from Johnny, but he didn’t look at it. He kept his attention on Chenle instead.

Chenle snuggled up to Taeyong and clung on to him tighter. “Sad ‘cause Lele?” he asked. Kun walked over to the bed and laid down on the other side of Chenle, facing his boys. “No, baby, we’re not sad because of you,” he said quickly.

“No, Lele, no,” Taeyong said, grateful that Kun was there. “I’m sad because the baby had to go away and I don’t know why and I miss him a lot.” He hoped Kun would translate that for him.

Kun took a deep breath before repeating what Taeyong said. Chenle looked up at Kun and then at Taeyong. “Baby go bye bye?” he asked sadly. Kun simply nodded; he didn’t want to break down in front of his son if he could avoid it.

Taeyong nodded, doing his best to hold back a fresh wave of tears. “Yeah,” He said, voice breaking, “baby went bye bye.” He had hoped to have a little more time, so he wouldn’t break down in front of Chenle, but that obviously wasn’t happening.

Chenle sat there for a moment before bursting into tears. Between his babas being sad and the baby leaving it was very overwhelming for the toddler. Kun’s heart shattered into a million pieces. Both of his boys were distraught and there was nothing he could do other than hug them close. He wished more than anything that he could take away their pain.

That did it for Taeyong. Seeing his baby burst into gut wrenching sobs had him immediately following suit. He sat up and lifted Chenle onto his shoulder, holding him tightly and rubbing his back as they both continued to cry.

Kun let his boys cry. What else could he do? He slid as close to them as he possibly could. “It’s okay, Lele, it’s okay,” he said gently. He knew everything wouldn’t be okay for a long time, but he wanted to calm the toddler down as quickly as he could.

With the hand not holding Chenle, Taeyong reaches out toward Kun, urging his fiancé to come closer. As much as he appreciated the younger man trying to stay strong for them, he knew Kun needed to grieve too.

Kun shifted closer and wrapped his arms around his boys. He couldn’t breakdown in front of them. Not now at least. He took steady, calculated breaths, desperately trying to keep himself calm. “Lele, everything is going to be okay,” he said when the toddler was still sobbing into Taeyong’s shoulder.

Taeyong could tell that his fiancé was on the verge of tears. His free hand found Kun’s and squeezed gently, reassuring him that he was there to catch him.

Kun desperately tried to stop the tears from coming but it didn’t work. First he couldn’t protect his baby, and now he couldn’t even be strong for his fiancé and son. Kun didn’t know what to think. He was so incredibly overwhelmed on top of the fact that he couldn’t do the simple things his family needed. “I...I,” his mouth couldn’t form the words so he gave up and clamped it closed.

“I-It’s okay, Kun-ah,” Taeyong said, voice thick with tears, “I’ve got you.” In the distance, he heard what sounded like a door opening and wondered if Ten had come back.

Kun sniffed and rubbed the tears away with the back of his hand. He took a few minutes to pull himself together, but it was proving more difficult than he thought... “I...I’m sorry,” he finally choked out. Chenle had stopped openly sobbing, but was still sniffling. Kun ran his hands through his son’s hair. “Do you want to stay with us tonight?” he asked once he had calmed back down.

Taeyong didn’t even need to look to know that Chenle was going to nod. The boy got very clingy when he was upset. He, on the other hand, was concerned about all the noise coming from the direction of their kitchen. Using his free hand to rub Kun’s lower back, he asked, “can you go see who’s here?”

“Yeah,” Kun said, regretfully pulling away from his boys. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and not carrying what he looked like he headed towards the noise. He was incredibly surprised to find Johnny and Ten in their kitchen. “Hey, what are you guys doing here?” he asked hoarsely. He didn’t mean to sound ungrateful but he was confused.

“Cooking,” Ten said simply. “He called me right as Taeyong texted me and we decided we should make sure you guys have enough food for this week,” Johnny explained further. His sister had gone through a miscarriage a few years prior and he knew from watching her and her fiancé just how hard it could be to do the daily chores.

“Thank you so much. You guys really didn’t have to do this,” Kun said, wrapping his arms around himself. He was so incredibly grateful for Ten and Johnny helping them, especially with their history.

“Yuta’s gonna go grocery shopping when he gets out of work to replace all the stuff we’re using up too,” Ten said, finally turning away from the counter to look at Kun. He immediately enveloped his slightly older friend in a hug. “We’re your friends, Kunnie,” he said, “it’s what we’re here for.”

Kun hugged Ten back. “Thank you, for everything,” he said sincerely. He stood there clinging onto Ten for a few moments before pulling away. “I’m going to go check on Taeyong and Lele. Come get me if you need anything,” he said as he left the kitchen. “It’s Johnny hyung and Ten,” Kun explained when he crawled back into bed, “they’re cooking for us to make sure we have enough food for the week.”

Taeyong sniffled and nodded. He swayed slightly, doing his best to keep Chenle calm. He would have to thank Johnny, but not now, not when his face was swollen like a balloon.

Kun wrapped his boys back up in a hug and just held them. He had to accept the fact that there wasn’t much more he could do than this.

Although it didn’t help the pain at all, Kun’s arms around him at least helped Taeyong feel less alone. Although he never wanted his fiancé or their son to suffer, it was comforting to know that they were all grieving together.

Chenle had finally cried himself out and Kun quickly disappeared into his own room to get some pajamas. “Let’s get you changed so you’re more comfortable,” he said as he helped Chenle get dressed.

“I’m gonna go see Johnny,” Taeyong said quietly, finally pulling himself out of bed. He grabbed a hoodie to cover up the rat nest in his head and trudged out to the kitchen. When Johnny saw him, he immediately dropped what he was doing and hugged him tightly. “I’m so sorry, Yongie,” he whispered.

Kun took Chenle onto his lap. The boy whimpered, but laid against him, happy to be close to someone. “Try and relax, Lele. Everything’s gonna be okay,” Kun said gently. “Baby come back?” the toddler asked sadly. “No, Lele. The baby’s not coming back. I’m sorry,” Kun said as his chest tightened. Chenle immediately burst into tears again.

A few tears leaked from Taeyong’s eyes, which were squeezed shut. He never wanted to let go of his best friend. “Thank you guys for helping out,” he said after a while, “it really means a lot.”

“It’s the least we can do,” Ten said carefully. He kept peaking glances over his shoulder at Taeyong while he cooked. Johnny had his best friend wrapped securely in his arms, with no plans on letting go.

“When are they...?” Johnny’s question trailed off but Taeyong knew what he was asking. “Thursday,” he mumbled, “and Kunnie can’t take the day off.” “I’ll go with you,” his best friend promised.

Once Chenle had calmed back down, Kun carefully slid out of bed. Holding the toddler close, he made his way into the kitchen and collapsed into one of the chairs. He sighed sadly when he saw Taeyong wrapped in Johnny’s arms. One look at everyone’s face had Chenle whimpering again. “Lele, do you want to help me?” Ten asked, he knew the toddler loved to help cook and he hoped it would offer a small distraction. Chenle nodded and Kun put him down so he could wander over to Ten.

Taeyong finally pulled away from Johnny, wiping his eyes yet again. “I gotta let Mark know,” he said quietly, leaving the room to retrieve his phone. After that, it was just his boss and he could leave that conversation for the morning.

“I don’t know what to do,” Kun said helplessly. He didn’t expect an answer, considering it wasn’t Johnny or Ten’s job to come up with one. He just felt so incredibly hopeless. Kun forced his attention to his son and watched him listen carefully to Ten’s instructions, grateful the toddler was able to keep his mind busy.

Taeyong, for some reason, found it easier to break the news to Donghyuck than to Mark, so that’s what he did. It wasn’t a very long conversation. Ducky offered to come over, but Taeyong was already overwhelmed by the people that were there. He went to leave his phone on the desk and broke down again when he saw what was there. It was a drawing of Chenle’s. The boy had put himself between his two parents and Taeyong was holding a small blue blob that was obviously supposed to be a baby.

Kun’s head snapped up and he froze when he heard Taeyong start crying again. “Go,” Ten said gently, “I’ll watch Lele.” With that Kun was out of his seat and down the hallway. “Tae? Babe, come here,” he said with a soft sigh as he walked across the room towards his fiancé.

Taeyong shuffled over to Kun and hugged his fiancé tightly. “Ch-Chenle drew us,” he sobbed, “all f-four of us.” The boy was obviously very excited about having a sibling and it just made Taeyong that much more upset.

Kun’s heart clenched and he took a deep breath to compose himself. He pulled Taeyong against him and let his hand gently run up and down his fiancé’s back. He knew Chenle was happy about the baby, but he didn’t realize he was this excited.

After a few minutes, Taeyong managed to compose himself again. He glanced back at the drawing and moved it to his bottom drawer, which he locked. He never wanted to throw out Chenle’s artwork, but he just couldn’t look at that one.

Kun sighed sadly when he caught a glimpse of Chenle’s drawing. “I’m sorry, Tae. I know this is hard, but we’ll get through it okay? One day at a time and I’ll be here for everything,” he said comfortingly.  He wanted to promise Taeyong that everything would work out and be okay, but he couldn’t promise now. Not when everything was still so raw.

“I think I’m gonna just go to bed,” Taeyong said quietly. He loved Johnny and Ten, but he just didn’t want to be around anyone but his family right now.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Kun asked quietly. He would much prefer to stay with Taeyong than go back to the kitchen, but he also respected that his fiancé may need some more time alone.

Taeyong nodded. “Can you go check on Lele first?” he asked. He didn’t want the boy to feel like they were shutting him out or shoving him off on Ten. It was bad enough that they had to leave him during the day.

“Of course,” Kun agreed easily.  He padded back into the kitchen. “Lele, do you want to stay and help Ten or go lay down with Taeyong baba?” he asked the toddler. “Taeyong baba,” Chenle answered immediately. “Alright, come on,” Kun said as he scooped his son into his arms. He mouthed his thanks to Ten, who nodded, and carried Chenle into their room.

Taeyong slowly climbed back into bed. All the crying was dehydrating him and he was starting to get sore. When Kun returned with Chenle, he smiled half heartedly and patted the space next to him.

Kun whispered that he would be right back and set Chenle down on the bed before disappearing back into the kitchen. As soon as the toddler was on the bed he crawled over to Taeyong. Sitting cross-legged in front of his father his simply signed “love.” Although he had been rapidly improving with signing over the past couple weeks, he didn’t want to risk making a mistake with Taeyong already so upset.

Taeyong smiled sadly when he saw Chenle's little sign. His own fingers move to make the symbol as well and he sat up slightly to rub his son's back. He knew the boy must have been so confused and he felt bad that he couldn't be stronger for him.

Chenle smiled when Taeyong returned the sign. He laid down and snuggled closer to his father, gripping his shirt tightly. Kun returned a few minutes later with a glass of water. “Johnny and Ten say goodbye and to text them if we need anything. They’re cleaning up now and then they’re gonna get going,” he said.

Taeyong nodded and motioned from Kun to come and lay down with them. He was hurting, they were all hurting, and he didn't want to face this alone. "Johnny said he'd go to the surgery with me on Thursday," he said quietly.

Kun laid down, nearly pressing himself against Chenle. His hand slowly combed through his son’s hair. He was glad Johnny would be able to go with Taeyong, it made him feel better knowing someone would be there with him. “I’m sorry it can’t be me,” Kun said softly. He felt so guilty that he wouldn’t be able to go. The one day his fiancé needed him most and he would be stuck at work.

"It's okay," Taeyong said, "I know you would be there if you could, and you'll be there after." Everything about this surgery was going to be painful and he was glad to have his fiancé by his side.

Kun nodded. “I’m not going anywhere,” he affirmed. He sighed when he heard the front door close and lock. He was incredibly grateful for Ten and Johnny and didn’t know what he would do without such supportive friends.

"Baba, song?" Chenle asked in a small voice, looking up at Kun. Taeyong smiled softly. Even if neither of them would rest, their son still deserved some comfort.

“Sure thing, baby,” Kun said softly. He had taught Chenle a lullaby his parents used to sing to him when he was younger and it always helped his son when he was upset so that was what he sang. His voice was scratchy from crying, but he knew Chenle wouldn’t care.

Kun’s voice was always so soothing to Taeyong. If he hadn’t been so into science, the younger man definitely could have been an idol. He closed his eyes as Kun sang and slowly dozed off as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Kun was a wreck all day at work on Thursday.  The only thing keeping him together was Johnny texting him updates as often as he could.  He didn’t even care that his boss had threatened to write him up when he got caught on his phone; all he cared about was making sure his fiancé was okay.  Ten had offered to stay when Kun got home and he welcomed the company. His best friend had a way of keeping him calm while he waited for Taeyong.

Taeyong was exhausted. He was glad that the doctors had done him the service of sedating him during the surgery, but now he just felt empty, literally and figuratively. He sat in the passenger seat of Johnny's car, staring blankly out the window as the older man drove him home.

Kun waited nervously by the door once he got the text that they were on their way home.  Chenle wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he could tell it was something bad.

Johnny supported Taeyong as they rode the elevator up to their floor and let themselves into the apartment. He saw Kun, Ten, and Chenle waiting by the door, but he was much more concerned with getting Taeyong back in bed and comfortable.

“Baba,” Chenle said as he walked towards Taeyong with his arms up.  Kun quickly scooped up the toddler before he got too far. “You’re going to have to let me hold you for a little bit, okay, baby?”  Chenle nodded and wrapped his arms around Kun’s neck, still keeping his eyes on Taeyong.

Taeyong let Johnny guide him to bed. He wrapped around a pillow, doing his best to avoid the bandaged incision on his abdomen, and Johnny wrapped him in a blanket. With a sigh, the older boy left the room, intent on talking to Kun.

Ten coaxed Chenle to go with him when Johnny came back in the room.  He quickly whisked the toddler out of ear shot so that Kun and Johnny could talk privately.  "Did everything go okay?" he asked shakily. Of course everything was far from okay, but Kun wanted to make sure Taeyong was at least physically okay.

"Physically, yeah," Johnny said with a sigh, "there was no damage to him, he's not gonna go septic or anything. But Taeyong...he's gone. He hasn't said anything since they put him under and there's nothing I can say that will make it any better. It doesn't matter anyway; he won't put his aids back in." Johnny lowered his voice. "The doctor suggested both of you going to see a therapist, but especially him. Miscarriage is never easy, but he's taking this really hard."

Kun sighed sadly and ran his hands through his hair.  He was at an absolute loss. "Thank you for going with him today.  I really appreciate you taking care of him," Kun finally said, "I'll bring up seeing a therapist.  If he's this distraught I think talking to someone would be a good idea. Thank you." He mustered a small smile, but it quickly slipped from his face.  All he wanted to do was hold his fiancé in his arms.

"Of course," Johnny said, "let me know if you need anything else, okay?" He wanted to be there for Taeyong as much as he could, but it was hard with the younger man shutting himself down. "C'mon, Ten, I'll give you a ride home."

"I will, thank you," Kun replied.  He bid Ten and Johnny goodbye and took Chenle back into his arms.  "You can lay with us, but be careful with Taeyong baba, okay? He's not feeling good," he whispered to the toddler before they walked into the bedroom.  Kun exhaled shakily when he saw Taeyong, laying expressionless in the middle of their bed. Chenle slowly crawled toward Taeyong when he was placed on the bed, but didn't get too close.

Taeyong cracked his eyes open when he felt something on the bed next to him. When he saw it was Chenle, he lifted his blanket slightly, giving the boy room to crawl in next to him. He had made a stupid decision at the hospital and asked the doctor to let him know if the baby had an identifiable sex. He and Kun would have had a daughter.

Chenle carefully climbed under the covers next to Taeyong.  Kun climbed in after the toddler and leaned against the headboard.  He wordlessly ran his fingers through Taeyong’s hair. He knew anything he did would be next to useless but he wanted to at least be with his fiancé.  Even Chenle kept quiet, which made Kun feel even more guilty.

Taeyong eyes closed again and he settled his hand on Chenle's back. "Stop looking at me like that," he said finally, although he was unable to hear Kun's response, "none of this is your fault."

Kun turned his head down and stared at his lap.  “It’s not yours either,” he mumbled, knowing full well Taeyong couldn’t hear him.  He sat there silently mind racing a mile a minute. What if Taeyong didn’t want to talk to someone?  How were they going to explain what happened today to Chenle? What else was he going to be unable to protect his family from?

Taeyong knew it would all be okay eventually, but right now it felt like the end of the world. He and Kun were both beating themselves up and poor Chenle was just left confused. With a sigh, he held his son tighter and tried to fall asleep.

Kun knew Taeyong was absolutely exhausted and he was glad that he was at least trying to get some rest.  Chenle was already fast asleep in Taeyong’s arms. After sitting there for a while, Kun dragged himself out of bed.  He didn’t want to leave Taeyong, but he needed a shower to clear his head. Once he had stepped under the spray, he broke down, grateful that Taeyong couldn’t hear his anguished sobs.

Taeyong woke up a while later when Chenle started wiggling around against him. The baby looked sad and scared and Taeyong's heart clenched. "Kun cry," Chenle signed, talking along with the motions, "Kun hurt?" Taeyong shook his head. "Kun's sad," he said sleepily.

Kun finally dragged himself out of the shower.  He pressed a cool washcloth against his bloodshot eyes, knowing that wouldn't do much.  Eventually he stopped stalling and headed back into the bedroom. Chenle had rolled himself over and was looking nervously up at Kun.  "Oh, baby, it's okay," Kun whispered quietly as he climbed back next to his son.

“Lele said you were crying,” Taeyong mumbled as he felt Kun sit down on the bed, “he thought you were hurt. You know it’s okay to be sad in front of us, Kunnie.”

Kun sighed sadly.  "I'm sorry. I'm okay, baby, I promise," he said comfortingly to Chenle.  He knew he would always have Taeyong to lean on, but his fiancé was already so upset and he didn't want to add to that.

It just made Taeyong more upset to know that Kun was trying to hide his hurt. He knew the younger had good intentions, but it just felt like he didn’t trust Taeyong enough to lean on him.

Kun felt like his world was crumbling around him.  One week ago his family was laying exactly like this in bed together, except they were laughing together at a movie.  Now all of them were laying in silence, hurt and confused with nothing to do, but keep each other company.

  
  


The next few weeks were tough, to say the least, but Taeyong slowly got better. He had brought up seeing a therapist on his own and was glad to know that Kun was willing to help him. Actually going to a therapist was a different struggle.

Kun was glad that Taeyong was willing to meet with a therapist, but it was a daunting idea.  They would have to explain everything that had happened and even though it had been a few weeks, it was still painful.  "This is going to help us," Kun said encouragingly as they drove to their first appointment, "I know it's gonna be hard to talk about everything, but it's the only way."

"I know," Taeyong said. Kun had been repeating the same phrase since they made the appointment. It wasn't like Taeyong didn't want to go. He just...didn't want to go.

“How about I do the talking for today and we can go from there?” Kun suggested.  He knew he sounded like a broken record, but that’s all he could offer. He didn’t blame Taeyong for his hesitance, even he had his own set of reservations.

"Sure," Taeyong said, "this is supposed to help you too." He wondered if they should have brought Chenle. Although the boy had rebounded quickly, he was still quiet.

Kun nodded.  “It will,” he said confidently, “I’m sure we can ask for advice on how to help Chenle as well.”  Taeyong slowly beginning to feel better had definitely helped Kun, but he still carried a lot of guilt.

"I hope so," Taeyong said quietly. He felt bad that their boy was suffering so much. Chenle deserved nothing but happiness.

The rest of their drive was silent, save for the radio turned to a low volume.  Kun finally broke the silence when he had parked the car. "Are you ready?" he asked quietly.  He had to admit he had no idea what to expect, but he just kept telling himself that this would help them.

"Not really," Taeyong said, "but I don't really have a choice, do I?" He wanted to stop hurting, he did, he just didn't want to talk about why he was hurting.

"No," Kun mumbled sadly, "but it's going to be okay, babe."  He took Taeyong's hand when they stepped out of the car and carefully guided his fiancé into the building.  Sooner than he expected they were sitting down in the waiting room.

When the therapist came out and called his name, Taeyong stood up with a half-hearted smile. "C'mon," he said to Kun, "let's get this over with."

"Hi, my name is Kim Yura," the therapist greeted warmly, "please have a seat and make yourself as comfortable as possible."  She gestured to the couch and Kun sat down, practically glued to Taeyong's side.

Taeyong greeted the therapist quietly, receding into himself as he sat next to Kun. He really didn't want to talk to this woman. He didn't want to talk at all.

Kun sighed softly and squeezed Taeyong's hand.  "We've been having a really rough time lately and we just want to try and get our lives back to as normal as we can," he said quietly.  Yura nodded, "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourselves before we discuss what's going on."

"There's not much to tell," Taeyong said grumpily, "we met at the end of college and we've been together since. I'm six months older than Kun. We have a son. That's it." He didn't mean to be rude to the therapist, but he wanted to go home.

Kun sighed sadly; Taeyong was never this cold, especially to someone he had just met.  "Yeah we've been together for a little over six years, and we have a beautiful two year old named Chenle," Kun added.  Yura smiled politely, "I know it's really hard to talk about your personal lives with someone you have just met so I appreciate everything you have shared.  Do you want to tell me a little bit about what brought you here?" Kun took a deep breath and snuck a look at Taeyong before speaking, "we lost our baby to a miscarriage a few weeks ago."

" _ I  _ lost our baby," Taeyong corrected gruffly. Kun had had absolutely nothing to do with it. All the fault belonged to Taeyong.

Kun frowned, but didn't say anything.  It killed him that Taeyong still blamed himself for this.  "Miscarriages are incredibly upsetting and it is natural to assign blame for what has happened.  The hardest part comes when we blame ourselves for things that truly aren't our fault," Yura said.  "We know that grieving will take a long time, but it feels like we’re stuck in a rut," Kun explained, "and we're worried about our son.  He's so young to have to experienced something like this."

Taeyong nodded along. His and Kun’s damp moods had certain kept Chenle down in the dumps with them. He couldn’t even muster a happy façade for his son and that killed him the most.

“Because your son is so young, he is not going to fully understand what is going on; however, from what you’ve told me, he has been picking up on your moods,” Yura noted. Kun simply nodded. “To help get your lives back to where you want, we have to start with you two. Is there something you do as a family that stopped because of this?” Yura asked. Kun thought for a moment before answering, “movie nights.” He couldn’t even think of the last time his family had watched a movie together.

Taeyong sighed and nodded. Movie nights had become their thing. It was nice to get home from work and find his family all curled up in bed and waiting for him. They had only had one since the miscarriage, as Taeyong had stayed home in bed all day anyway.

“Some people, especially children, benefit from a routine.  I think something that might help the grieving process would be to try and incorporate as much of the things you did before back into your lives and you can start with movie nights.  Is that something you are willing to try?” Yura asked looking between both men. Kun quickly nodded and turned to look at Taeyong. He would try absolutely anything to help his family.

Taeyong nodded as well. He had missed their movie nights and he knew Chenle had been disappointed when he couldn’t climb into bed with them, but Taeyong had been warned against co-sleeping so late. He felt bad whenever he put Chenle to bed and the boy didn’t want to let go of him.

Yura smiled warmly, “Wonderful.  I want you to try and slowly ease back into your family routines.  When things start going back to as normal as they can be Chenle should readjust.”   Kun nodded again. After thanking Yura and scheduling their next appointment with her they left the office.  “That didn’t go so bad,” he said quietly as they walked to their car.

“It definitely could have been worse,” Taeyong agreed as he waited for Kun to unlock the door. “We should take Lele out to an actual movie. I bet he’s never been and it would be fun for him. There’s a new Disney movie that came out the other day.”

“That would be a lot of fun.  I’m sure he’d love it,” Kun agreed.  He unlocked the car and climbed in. Taking a deep breath, he reached over and took Taeyong’s hand in his own.   He sat there quietly for a moment before driving them to the store.

“We should get something for Lele,” Taeyong said once they were finished gathering groceries. He left Kun with the cart and made his way over to the toy aisle.

"Yeah, I think that would be good," Kun said.  He followed behind Taeyong, but the aisle he went down was crowded so Kun waited at the end with their cart.  He pulled out their list and double checked that they hadn't forgotten anything, while Taeyong was picking out something for Chenle.

Taeyong didn’t find anything he thought Chenle would like, so he rounded the corner to the next aisle, but found himself in the baby items instead. He was about to turn and leave when his eyes caught sight of a long sleeved onesie. Sadly, he reached out and picked it up.

Kun finished checking their list and looked down the aisle to find his fiancé gone.  He pushed the cart to the next one, but still didn't find Taeyong. He kept walking until he found the elder in the baby section and sighed sadly when he saw the older man holding a onesie.  

Taeyong put the onesie back with a sigh when he heard Kun approaching him. “She would have been adorable in these,” he said softly, “I didn’t find anything for Lele. C’mon, let’s go home.”

Kun barely registered the rest of Taeyong's sentence. She? They would have had a daughter? He quickly shook his head and followed his fiancé, glad he couldn't see his face fall.  He was sad that Taeyong hadn't told him, but he didn't say anything until they were halfway home. "You didn't tell me the baby was a girl," Kun said softly.

“I didn’t think it mattered,” Taeyong said quietly, not looking away from the window, “it would have just hurt you more to know.”

“You were gonna keep the fact that we would have had a daughter from me?  Tae, I know you didn’t want to hurt me, but you really thought I wouldn’t want to know?” Kun asked sadly.  He wasn’t angry; he was far from it. He didn’t know why he was even that surprised considering how long Taeyong had hid the pregnancy from him in the first place.

“It kills me, Kunnie,” Taeyong said, finally turning to face his fiancé, “I thought I could handle knowing and I can’t and I didn’t want to put that pain on you too.”

Kun sighed sadly.  “We’re in this together remember?  You don’t have to hide things from me.  Especially things like this,” he said softly.  He reached over and took Taeyong’s hand in his own.

Taeyong squeezed Kun's hand gently. "If it makes you feel better, no one else knows either," he said, "I didn't tell Johnny this time."

Kun sighed sadly.  It was nice to know that this was something that would be kept between the two of them.  “Please promise me that you won’t hide anything like this from me again,” he begged.

"I can't," Taeyong said, regretfully, "I never want to tell you things that I know will hurt you, Kunnie."

Kun was almost taken aback.  He forced himself to not pull his hand away from Taeyong's.  After everything they had been through, he thought they would always be honest with each other, but it looked like that wasn't the case.  He wondered how many other things Taeyong had kept from him to try and save his emotions.

"I don't like hiding things from you," Taeyong said, "but I would rather struggle with something alone than tell you something that I know would hurt you. At least one of us should be happy."

"That's not how relationships work.  You know just as much as I do what happens when we aren't honest with each other.  I would rather hurt with you than watch you be upset with no idea what's going on," Kun said.  He was trying not to get upset, but it was hard. Kun hated the idea of Taeyong keeping things like this to himself.

Taeyong didn't have a response to that. He had become so used to internalizing his suffering throughout the course of his life that he still found it difficult to tell Kun when he was struggling. He knew they would both benefit from more honesty, but he just wasn't there yet.

Kun let them sit in silence for the rest of the drive, which wasn't very long.  He and Taeyong wordlessly carried the groceries up to their apartment. Kun was still worried about Taeyong so he only let his fiancé carry the smaller bags.  "Do you want to ask Chenle if he wants to go see the Disney movie while I run back down and grab the last couple bags?" Kun asked as he unlocked the door.

"I really don't think he's going to say no," Taeyong said with a small smile. Chenle loved all things animated and Taeyong knew he would be more than overjoyed to out to the movies.

"I don't think so either," Kun said as he pushed open the door.  No sooner had he stepped in did he hear little footsteps coming rapidly down the hallway.  "Hi, Lele," he greeted as he head to the kitchen to put the bags down, "Taeyong baba has a question for you."  The toddler immediately made a beeline towards Taeyong. "Question?" he asked curiously as he peered up. Ten nodded his greeting from his spot in the hallway.

Taeyong crouched down in front of Chenle so they were on eye level. "How would you feel if Kunnie and I took you out to the movies tonight?"

Chenle's eyes widened at the prospect of a movie.  They haven't watched one in a long time. He eagerly nodded and threw himself into Taeyong's arms.  Kun chuckled as he caught sight of Chenle hugging Taeyong tightly. Hopefully everything would start looking up from here.

Taeyong smiled widely and hugged Chenle back, picking the boy up as he did so. The boy had this way of making everyone around him feel better just by smiling and Taeyong was incredibly susceptible.

Kun sighed happily when he saw both of his boys smiling.  It was nice to see both of them happy, even just for a moment. "I'll be right back," he said quietly as he left the apartment again.  “I’ll follow you down,” Ten said. Kun took his time getting to the elevator so Taeyong and Chenle could have some alone time.

"How was your day with Tennie, Lele?" Taeyong asked as he carried the boy back toward the living room. Only a few more weeks and then they wouldn't need to bug Ten for babysitting services any longer.

"Played cars!" the toddler said happily, "missed you."  He leaned his head on Taeyong's shoulder happy to be with his father.  "How did it go?" Ten asked once they were in the elevator. "Better than I thought," Kun answered, "everything's gonna work out we just need some time."  Ten nodded in understanding, "I'll see you tomorrow." Kun bid Ten goodbye and grabbed the last couple of bags from the backseat of his car.

"Just a few more weeks and then I'll be home with you all day," Taeyong told Chenle happily. His book was launching in a week and his paycheck from it would be more than enough to cover what he was making at the bookstore. Getting to spend some quality time with Chenle would definitely help his mood.

“Play with me?" Chenle asked excitedly.  He loved spending the day with Ten, but the prospect of being able to be with his father all the time was incredibly exciting.

"All day," Taeyong promised. It wasn't entirely true, he would still have some promotional events to attend, but it was true enough to appease a two year old.

Chenle smiled happily into Taeyong's neck and clung onto his father tightly.  Kun finally made his way back in the apartment and headed straight for the kitchen so he could put the groceries away.  He smiled softly when he saw that Chenle was still happily wrapped up in Taeyong's arms.

Taeyong walked around the living room absently, still talking quietly to Chenle. He could tell that the boy hadn't taken a nap yet, so he was trying to get him to fall asleep.

Chenle listened contently to Taeyong talk.  He didn't understand everything his father was saying, but he knew most of it.  After a few minutes, he yawned and sleepily snuggled closer, one small hand gripping the front of Taeyong's shirt securely.

"I'm gonna put him to bed," Taeyong whispered to Kun, rubbing Chenle's back gently. He made his way down the hall to the toddler's bedroom and carefully laid him in bed.

Kun nodded and smiled softly.  While Taeyong was putting Chenle down for his nap, he finished putting away the last of the groceries.  He meandered into the living room and took a seat on the couch, letting his head tip back. Kun sighed softly and closed his eyes for a moment.  It felt like he had barely had any time to breathe in the last few weeks.

Once he was sure that Chenle was asleep, Taeyong wandered back out to the living room. He curled up on the couch next to Kun, draping the younger man's arm around his shoulders.

Kun cracked his eyes open when Taeyong sat down next to him.  He pulled his fiancé against him and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.  He was content to sit there for hours just holding Taeyong close.

"We should go on a trip once my promotional stuff is done," Taeyong said quietly. They could certainly use it, with all the stress they'd been under in the past few weeks. "Maybe to Fujian?"

Kun smiled at the thought of a family vacation.  He didn't expect Taeyong to suggest going to his hometown, but it made him happy.  After all, he hadn't been home since he left to attend college. "I love that idea. We could introduce Chenle to my parents," Kun suggested slowly.  He knew Taeyong didn't get along incredibly well with his parents, but it would be a nice opportunity for them to meet the toddler.

"Right, we can stay in a hotel on the other side of town, and if we happen to run into them, that's great!" Taeyong said. He was only bluffing a little bit. He knew Kun's parents didn't like him, and that was fine, but he wasn't sure he was comfortable with putting Chenle in the middle of all of that.

"That would be great," Kun said quietly.  He didn't expect Taeyong to like the idea of meeting with his parents, and he didn't entirely blame his fiancé.  Kun didn't let it worry him for too much longer. If they did end up taking a vacation it wouldn't be for another few months anyway.

Jokes aside, Chenle did deserve to meet at least one set of his grandparents. Taeyong was simply worried about what they would say to the boy that he couldn't understand. "We'll talk about it when the time comes," he mumbled.

“Yes, we will.  Focus on your book for now,” Kun said.  He was excited that Taeyong’s manuscript was finally getting put out.  He knew how much time and effort his fiancé has put into his book. “Lay down so you’re comfortable,” he added quietly.  He could tell his fiancé was exhausted and he could definitely use a nap.

"You too," Taeyong mumbled, already readjusting himself. If Chenle was napping, that meant they could nap too. Both of them were light enough sleepers that they would wake up if anything was wrong.

Kun didn’t need to be told twice.  He happily kicked his feet up onto the couch and pulled Taeyong down gently to lay with him.

Taeyong sighed and closed his eyes. He felt drained. The last few weeks, he had felt nothing but drained, and the therapy session had just made him more tired. He hoped he would be able to put it all behind him soon.

Kun let his hand absentmindedly run up and down Taeyong's back.  He closed his eyes, but he wasn't quite able to fall asleep so he let his mind wander as he dozed off.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting late! Today was crazy busy. Have some fluff!

When Taeyong woke up a few hours later, it was to tiny fingers poking at his cheeks. He cracked an eye open and found Chenle standing next to the couch, looking antsy. "Baba, movie," the boy whispered.

Kun didn't realize that Chenle had come into the room until he spoke up. He reached over and ruffled the boy's hair. "Yes, let's get ready to go the movie," Kun said softly. He helped Taeyong to slowly sit up.

Taeyong sat up, rubbing his eyes, and scooped Chenle off the floor to go get changed. “What movie do you wanna see, Lele?” he asked.

"Disney! Disney!" Chenle said excitedly. He watched Taeyong closely for approval. Kun smiled at the boy’s excitement and disappeared into the bathroom to smooth out his hair and quickly wash his face. When he was done he went to stand in the door of Chenle's room. The boy was only half dressed on account of all the wiggling around he was doing out of excitement.

“Lele, we can’t go to the movies unless you put your pants on,” Taeyong said sternly, but he knew it was getting lost in translation. Desperately, he looked at Kun for help.

"Chenle, please let Taeyong help you get dressed. You need to put pants on so we can go to the movies," Kun said. The toddler quickly nodded and walked back over to Taeyong.

Taeyong helped Chenle put his pants on then picked up the boy. He’d been feeling very needy for his son lately and only felt marginally bad for monopolizing him. Kun had had his time; it was Taeyong’s turn now.

Chenle happily let himself be scooped up. Kun smiled softly as he watched Taeyong with Chenle. His fiancé was so gentle and although there was still a language barrier, he could tell how much Taeyong loved Chenle. "Alright, let's go," Kun said gently. He led his family out of the apartment and down to their car.

Taeyong carried Chenle down to the car and buckled him into his car seat. “Are you excited, Lele?” he asked as he got into his own seat.

Chenle nodded eagerly, but his attention was focused out the window. He loved watching the cars pass by and seeing little animals running around in the grass. Kun's eyes kept drifting to the rearview mirror as he drove. It was moments like this when he wished Chenle would stay two years old and infinitely curious forever.

“Lele, what do you want to have for dinner?” Taeyong asked. There were a number of places near the movie theatre that they could go to eat, so it was all up to Chenle.

Chenle thought for a moment. "Chicken?" he asked, finally pulling his eyes away from the window. Kun couldn't help but smile, every little thing his son did or said was absolutely adorable to him.

“What kind of chicken?” Taeyong asked, turning to look and his son. It was cute how excited Chenle was about everything.

Chenle looked a little bit puzzled so Kun began listing off options for the toddler. "Fried chicken!” Chenle said quickly. He watched Taeyong closely hoping his father agreed.

“Sure, baby,” Taeyong said, “we can have fried chicken.” He pulled out his phone, googling to find the closest fried chicken place to the theatre.

Chenle clapped happily and went back to looking out the window. “He’s so adorable,” Kun breathed.

“The cutest,” Taeyong agreed. They had gotten so lucky with Chenle. The boy was so well behaved and Taeyong felt blessed.

"Do you think more food is going to end up on the floor or on Chenle's shirt by the end of dinner?" Kun asked jokingly. Dinnertime always turned out to be a gamble of where Chenle's dinner was going to end up considering most of it missed the boy's mouth.

“Oh, on him for sure,” Taeyong said with a laugh. Chenle was a messy kid, which was why Taeyong always brought a change of clothes when they took him anywhere.

Kun smiled; it felt like it had been forever since he heard Taeyong laugh. “Well I guess we’re about to find out,” he said as he pulled into the parking lot.

Taeyong was smiling as he got out of the car and lifted Chenle out of his car seat. He let the boy lead the way inside, keeping a watchful eye over him the entire time.

Chenle practically sprinted into the restaurant, although he couldn't go very fast with Taeyong holding his hand. He looked around excitedly when they got inside. This was their first time taking Chenle to a restaurant and although the toddler was very well behaved, Kun couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

Taeyong picked Chenle up when they got inside so he wouldn’t get in the way. Fortunately the hostess sat them in the corner, away from most of the commotion.

Chenle wiggled around in Taeyong's arms. As much as he loved being in his father's arms he was much more interested in exploring. Kun chewed his lip nervously. Chenle was a naturally fidgety toddler on top of the fact that he had napped before hand.

“Lele, I’m gonna put you down but you have to stay at the table, okay?” Taeyong looked to Kun in hopes that the younger would translate.

"You can't go wandering around when Taeyong baba puts you down, Lele. You have to stay with us so you don't get hurt," Kun explained seriously. Chenle nodded in agreement, "down, down!"

Taeyong carefully put Chenle down, but still held his hand tightly. There were a lot of nerve wracking things about taking Chenle out, least of all the fact that his parents were gay.

Chenle stayed close to Taeyong and peered around the restaurant. It was pretty crowded and there were quite a few people staring at them. Chenle held Taeyong’s hand tightly.

“Here, Lele, do you want to color?” Taeyong asked. The tables were covered with butcher paper and the hostess had given them crayons.

Chenle nodded and tore his eyes away from the other diners to pick up some crayons. Soon enough he had completely forgotten about everything around him, too absorbed in his drawing. Kun watched Chenle closely, completely ignoring the menu in front of him.

“Alright, so fried chicken for Lele,” Taeyong said as he flipped the menu open, “what do you want, Kunnie?” Taeyong was just a bit too hungry to share a dish.

Kun shook his head and looked down at the menu. “Something light so we can enjoy some snacks at the movie,” he replied, “maybe I’ll just do a salad.” He looked back up at Chenle, who was still happily coloring next to Taeyong.

Taeyong wrinkled his nose. He knew he should be eating healthy, but salad just grossed him out. Kun did make a good point about the snacks though. “I think I’m just gonna get an app,” he said.

Kun chuckled when he saw Taeyong’s face of disgust. “Are you sure that’s enough?” he asked concernedly. Between the morning sickness and the distress over losing the baby, Taeyong had lost a lot of weight.

“Yeah, I wanna snack at the movies,” Taeyong said. It hadn’t really settled on him yet that he needed to adjust his diet to regain the weight he’d lost.

Kun simply nodded. Within the next few minutes they had ordered and Kun took the opportunity to sneak a glance at Chenle. The toddler had a crayon held tightly in one of his fists but he was staring around wide-eyed.

Taeyong scooted over and lifted Chenle into his lap so the boy could reach the table better. “That’s a very pretty drawing, Lele,” he said.

“Thanks, baba,” he said in a small voice when he was on Taeyong’s lap. Kun frowned, “Lele, what’s wrong?” Now that the toddler had gotten over his initial curiosity, he didn’t look very happy. “Loud,” Chenle answered quietly, turning himself around to clutch Taeyong’s shirt and to press against his father.

“What’s loud, baby?” Taeyong asked. If it was the music that was bothering Chenle, they could always ask their waitress to turn it down, but if it was the people, there was nothing he could do. Again.

“Music,” Chenle whimpered, grasp tightening on Taeyong’s shirt. “Oh, baby, it’s okay,” Kun whispered soothingly, “we’ll ask to turn it down.” He felt bad that Chenle was so miserable and he was worried the toddler would burst into tears at any moment.

Taeyong lifted Chenle up over his shoulder and patted his back. “I’m gonna take him outside for a minute,” he said, “text me when the food is here, okay?” With that, he left the restaurant with the cranky toddler in his arms.

Kun nodded and watched Taeyong carefully until the pair had walked out the front door. They would have to be careful bringing Chenle out until he got a little bit bigger and could handle the noise. He just hoped the movie wasn’t too loud for the toddler.

Taeyong sat on the bench outside the restaurant and cuddled Chenle to his chest, giving the boy time to calm down. Carefully, he pulled out his phone and texted Kun that they should get their son earplugs for the movie.

Chenle slowly uncurled his fists from Taeyong’s shirt but he kept his head on his father’s shoulder. Kun breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Taeyong’s text. He was almost convinced that his fiancé could read his mind considering how often he had a solution to all of Kun’s problems before he even brought them up. “Yeah I think that would be a good idea. Is he doing ok?” he typed back.

Taeyong texted back an affirmative. Chenle was probably still tired, since he’d just woken up from a nap and wasn’t used to being around so many people. “You okay, Lele?”

Kun was glad that Chenle was calming down. He felt bad that the poor boy was so overwhelmed. Chenle simply nodded in response to Taeyong’s question. “Baba, will the movie be loud?” he asked quietly.

Taeyong nodded, pouting for Chenle’s sake. “We’ll make it quiet for you though,” he said, hoping Chenle could understand enough of what he was saying.

Chenle frowned when saw Taeyong nod. He didn’t want the movie to be loud. Not more than a few minutes later did their food arrive. Kun asked the waitress about lowering the music and promptly texted Taeyong.

“Kun baba says its all quiet now,” Taeyong said, “ready to go back in?” He really hoped Chenle didn’t decide to throw a tantrum now.

Chenle clutched onto Taeyong’s shirt again but nodded slowly. Kun was grateful that the waitress had the music turned down before Chenle came back in. He hoped that would calm the toddler down enough that he could enjoy his dinner.

Taeyong carefully carried Chenle back inside, smiling tightly at the hostess. “Is that better, Lele?” he asked as he settled the boy back in his spot.

Chenle nodded and reached out for some chicken eagerly. “Hang on, baby, let me cut this up for you,” Kun said, sliding the toddler’s plate towards himself.

While Chenle was waiting for Kun to give his plate back, Taeyong placated him by giving him a chip off of his own plate to nibble on. He’d gotten an appetizer sample of wings, mozzarella sticks, and chips and dip, so there was enough to go around.

Chenle happily munched on his chip, keeping a close eye on Kun to make sure his chicken was returned. Once Kun was satisfied with the size of the pieces he moved the plate back in front of the toddler. “There ya go, baby,” he said. Chuckling when he saw Chenle’s eyes light up.

“Do you want sauce, Lele?” Taeyong asked, “ketchup?” There were a couple of bottles on the table, but Taeyong didn’t know how to convey them to the toddler.

Kun repeated what Taeyong said in Korean and held up the bottle of ketchup. The toddler nodded eagerly and reached his hands out. “I’ll do it,” Kun said as he squeezed a little bit of the condiment onto the corner of Chenle’s plate.

Taeyong regretted offering ketchup the moment Chenle smeared it all over his face. At least he looked cute while doing it.

“We’re going to have to wash him down in the bathroom sink after,” Kun joked. He couldn’t even be mad at the toddler considering how adorable he was.

Taeyong snorted and shook his head fondly. “He’s still gonna smell like tomatoes all night,” he said.

“It could be worse,” Kun said with a chuckle. As long as both of his boys were smiling, he didn’t care how many bath times they would have to have.

Taeyong munched on his chips, watching Chenle happily. His boy was so happy eating his chicken. He couldn’t ask for anything more from the world right now.

Other than the ketchup smeared across Chenle’s face, the toddler managed to do a pretty good job at getting the food into his mouth. Kun was grateful that they finished up when they did because he noticed the volume of the music get turned back up.

“I’ll take him to get cleaned up if you wanna take care of the bill,” Taeyong said, already helping Chenle out of the booth. The music was loud enough now to bother him and he didn’t want his son to have a tantrum.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you at the car,” Kun said.  He watched Taeyong carefully carry Chenle away and he couldn’t help feeling bad for the both of them. Kun paid the bill and after leaving a tip, headed out to the car, hoping that his fiancé and son weren’t far behind.

Taeyong took Chenle to the bathroom to clean up his face and fingers before heading outside and over to the car. Kun was already there waiting for them.

“That’s much better,” Kun commented as Taeyong buckled a now clean Chenle into his car seat. “He didn’t give you a hard time did he?” he asked his fiancé. The toddler looked much happier to be cleaned up and looking back out the car window.

“No, he was fine,” Taeyong said, “Are you ready for the movie, Lele?” he asked, looking back at the toddler.

Chenle nodded eagerly, not taking his eyes off the window. “I hope he’ll be okay,” Kun said quietly.

“We should stop at the drugstore to find headphones or something,” Taeyong said. He wanted to make sure Chenle enjoyed the movie.

“Yeah that’s a good idea,” Kun said. Luckily there was a convenience store just up the road and that’s exactly where Kun drove. “Alright, baby, let’s get you some headphones,” he said to Chenle when they had parked. “Headphones?” the toddler asked curiously. “So the movie isn’t too loud,” Kun explained.

“Do you wanna just run in quickly and I’ll sit out here with him?” Taeyong suggested. It would be tedious to get Chenle unbuckled and buckled back in.

“Sure.  I’ll be right back,” Kun said before slipping out of the car. Finding headphones that would fit Chenle was easier than he expected. The line however turned out to be a bit bigger of a problem than anticipated. With a sigh Kun moved to stand at the end and hoped it moved quickly.

Taeyong turned on music while he and Chenle waited and smiled when he saw the boy dancing along in his car seat. “You like that song, Lele?”

Chenle nodded happily and continued dancing along. He pouted when the song suddenly ended. “Again?” he asked hopefully.

Taeyong laughed and grabbed his phone to replay the song. It was cute that Chenle enjoyed the song so much.

Chenle clapped his hands happily when Taeyong played the song again. Kun smiled when he noticed Chenle dancing in the backseat as he approached the car. “Hopefully this helps,” he said as he handed the headphones to Taeyong when he climbed in the car. “Enjoying the music, Lele?” he added with a chuckle.

Taeyong fiddled with the packaging and finally managed to remove the headphones. They looked like they were the perfect size for Chenle. “These should be perfect, Kunnie.”

Kun breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, let's go," he said, and with that they were finally off to the movies. Even though the drive to the theater was short Kun reached over to hold Taeyong's hand anyway.

Taeyong smiled softly when Kun’s hand found his own, even if it was just for a moment. Before he knew it, they were at the theatre. “I’ll get Lele and you go get tickets,” Taeyong said, “we’ll meet you to pick out snacks.”

“Sounds good,” Kun said. He was glad that Chenle was picking up sign language and Korean so fast, it made even simple moments like this so much easier. Kun snuck one last look over his shoulder before walking into the theater to get their tickets.

Taeyong lifted Chenle out of his car seat and carried the boy inside. “It’s almost movie time, Lele,” he said to the boy as they joined Kun in the concessions line.

Chenle could barely contain his excitement. One hand gripped his headphones tightly and the other found itself around the back of Taeyong’s neck. “What are you thinking for snacks?” Kun asked.

“We’ll have to share, so nothing small that he can choke on,” Taeyong said, “maybe Twizzlers? No popcorn.”

Kun nodded in agreement. “What do you think, Lele? Are Twizzlers a good snack for the movie?” he asked. Chenle nodded immediately. Kun chuckled, “I don’t know why I asked I’m sure he would agree to anything. He’s so easy going.”

“Get something for just us too,” Taeyong murmured quietly. He knew they would be able to distract Chenle with the Twizzlers so they could share something a little better.

Kun smiled as he stepped up to the counter. He selected Twizzlers for Chenle and Kit Kats for them to share. After paying for the snacks, Kun guided his family toward the theaters.  

Taeyong followed Kun with Chenle in his arms. They entered the theatre and found seats right in the middle. “Ready, Lele?” Taeyong asked, noting that the previews were already started. He settled the boy next to him, with Kun on his other side.

Chenle nodded and tried to put his headphones on but couldn’t. “Baba, help?” he asked as he held the headphones out to Taeyong.

Taeyong took the headphones and slipped them over Chenle’s ears. He then opened the package of Twizzlers and handed a piece to the boy.

Chenle happily took the piece of Twizzler from Taeyong. He ate the candy slowly, distracted by the previews. Kun smiled as he watched Chenle get settled with his headphones and candy. The toddler looked so small in the theater seat. “Do I get any?” Kun whispered jokingly to Taeyong.

Taeyong held a Twizzler out to his fiancé, pulling it back and biting into himself just as the younger went to grab it. “Nope,” He said cheekily.

Kun faked a pout when Taeyong pulled the Twizzler away. “Guess I’ll just have to eat these instead,” he teased as he snatched Taeyong’s candy. He had to fight to keep a smile from sneaking onto his face.

“You don’t even like those!” Taeyong whined, pulling at Kun’s arm. It wasn’t entirely true; Kun could tolerate the Kit Kats, but certainly not enough to eat the entire candy himself.

Kun gave up the fight and let a smile spread across his lips. “Get me a Twizzler and I’ll return your candy untouched,” he said, faking seriousness. Slowly he pretended to open the wrapper, waiting for what Taeyong would do.

“Mutually assured destruction,” Taeyong said, feigning shock, “you  _ wouldn’t.  _ ”

Kun pulled back the corner of the wrapper with a raised eyebrow. “Twizzler,” he demanded. He had absolutely no intentions of eating Taeyong’s candy but the opportunity to tease his fiancé was too good to pass up.

Taeyong pulled a single Twizzler out of the package and held it in front of him. “You give me the candy and I’ll give you the Twizzler,” he said.

Kun shook his head and reached out his free hand. “Twizzler first. I don’t trust you to uphold your end of the bargain,” he said, barely containing a laugh. He could almost forget they were in a movie theater surrounded by plenty of other families.

“I don’t trust you either,” Taeyong said, lips twitching as he fought a smile. Chenle tapped on his arm and Taeyong handed him the Twizzler and pulled out another one without moving his gaze from Kun.

Kun stared at Taeyong for a moment before sighing, it was too hard to resist his fiancé any longer. “Here,” he said as he reluctantly handed over the candy. He hung his head in defeat and held his hand out for his reward.

Taeyong smirked when Kun conceded defeat and decided to milk the moment. “Nuh uh, gotta kiss me first,” he said.

Kun looked up with a smile. “Now that’s a price I’m willing to pay,” he said quietly. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Taeyong’s lips.

Taeyong smiled as Kun kissed him and finally passed over the Twizzler. “God, I feel like we’re in college again,” he whispered when they pulled away. This was the happiest he had been in a while.

The smile on Kun’s face widened. “Those certainly were the days, hm?” he commented quietly. He bit into the Twizzler and sighed happily. Leaning back in his seat he simply enjoyed the moment. He actually felt happy and one look at his fiancé told him that Taeyong felt the same way.

“Baba, shhh,” Chenle said suddenly, “it’s starting.” Taeyong smiled softly and turned away from Kun, silently offering his fiancé another Twizzler.

Kun chuckled and took the Twizzler from Taeyong. Every so often during the movie he found himself sneaking looks at his fiancé. He leaned forward at one point to check on Chenle and the toddler was actually sitting still for once, completely absorbed in the movie. With a contented sigh, Kun sat back and enjoyed the rest of the movie.

By the end of the movie, Chenle was passed out cold. He was awake much later than they normally allowed him, so Taeyong wasn’t particularly surprised. “Let’s head home,” he whispered to Kun as he picked the toddler up.

Chenle didn’t even wake up when he was scooped into Taeyong’s arms. Kun nodded and wordlessly grabbed the empty candy wrappers to discard. “This was nice,” he said when they were finally on their way home.

“It was,” Taeyong agreed, “it’s the first bit of normalcy we’ve had in weeks.” He wished he could keep holding Chenle as they drove home - his sleeping son was so precious to look at - but safety came first, so he begrudgingly settled him in his car seat.

“Hopefully we can start doing more stuff like this. Chenle did really well with everything for being so young,” Kun said. Obviously they couldn’t take Chenle out to the movies that often, but it would be a nice treat every once in a while. Kun just hoped this was the first small step towards getting their lives back together. He knew it would take a long time, but seeing Chenle so happy made everything a little bit easier.

Taeyong looked back at his son in the mirror. Chenle was still sleeping soundly, worn out from his long day. “We’re so lucky, Kunnie,” he said quietly.

“We are,” Kun agreed with a smile. He reached over and squeezed Taeyong’s hand. It was almost a habit at this point for Kun to hold his fiancé’s hand while he drove. The rest of the ride was relatively quiet and soon they were back at their apartment. “Alright let’s get the little one to bed,” he said.

Chenle woke up slightly as Taeyong carried him upstairs and got him changed, but he was barely conscious. Taeyong carefully sat in the rocking chair that was in Chenle’s room, holding the boy on his shoulder and rocking to lull him back to sleep.

Kun put Chenle’s headphones away in their room for safe keeping and then wandered into his son’s room. He leaned on the doorframe content to just watch Taeyong rock the toddler back to sleep. “He’ll sleep good tonight,” he said quietly.

Taeyong hummed. “I don’t wanna put him down,” he replied. Chenle had never really fallen asleep on him like this before and he wanted to savor the moment. If he could freeze time, he would.

Kun smiled. “Do you want to let him stay with us tonight?” he asked. They tried to avoid letting the toddler stay in bed with them unless he was having a hard time sleeping, but they could always make an exception for tonight. Taeyong and Chenle seemed much too content to let go of each other.

Taeyong was tempted but he shook his head. “I shouldn’t,” he quietly. He finally stood up and laid Chenle in his bed, tucking the boy in gently. “Let’s go to bed,” he said, taking Kun’s hand.

Kun contently followed Taeyong to their room. Despite his doze on the couch earlier he was exhausted. He regretfully let go of Taeyong’s hand to climb into bed and eagerly waited for his fiancé to lie down so he could wrap him in his arms.

When Taeyong settled in Kun’s arms, it felt like he was finally coming home. “Hey, I love you a lot,” he whispered.

“I love you more,” Kun said easily. He tightened his arms around Taeyong and pulled his fiancé as close to him as possible.

“I love you the most,” Taeyong said softly. He didn’t know what he would do or where he would be if he didn’t have Kun in his life.

Kun smiled widely and tucked his head into Taeyong’s neck. “Get some sleep, babe,” he whispered. They could both certainly use a good night’s rest considering neither of them had been sleeping well lately.

Taeyong turned his head slightly to press a kiss to Kun’s hair. “Night, baby,” he mumbled tiredly, already drifting off.

Kun was glad to see Taeyong already falling asleep. He wished he didn’t have to go to work the next day; he would much rather spend his morning with his fiancé wrapped in his arms. He mumbled a quiet “good night” before finally falling asleep himself.


	9. Chapter 9

“Kun-ah! I have a gift for you!” Taeyong said when he entered the apartment. His last day at the bookstore was finally over and he had returned home with a few copies of his own book. It was such an exciting feeling.

“What is it?” Kun asked curiously as he came into living room, Chenle hot on his heels. The toddler darted past Kun and clung onto Taeyong’s leg. “Hi, baba,” he said happily.

“Tada!” Taeyong said as he presented Kun with a copy of the book. He hadn’t let his fiancé read it at all, not even the first draft.

Kun’s eyes widened and he all but tore the book from Taeyong’s hand. He opened the book and flipped through the pages. Closing it again he wrapped Taeyong in a hug. “I’m so happy for you, babe. I’m gonna start reading it tonight,” he said excitedly. Kun had been begging Taeyong to let him read even a sample of the book, but his fiancé had adamantly refused until now.

“The store already sold five copies,” Taeyong said excitedly. He set the other copies on the table and scooped Chenle up. “How was your day, baby?”

“Fun! Went to the park!” Chenle replied. He wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s neck, hugging his father tightly. “That’s great, babe,” Kun said as he continued to flip through the book. “What’s a guy gotta do to get a signed copy?” he added teasingly.

“Oh, that’s probably the wrong copy,” Taeyong said, nudging his chin at the ones on the coffee table, “one of them has an inscription for you. There’s ones for Johnny and Tennie too.”

“Really?” Kun asked. He didn’t expect Taeyong to give into his teasing let alone already have a personal copy for him. Sure enough, when he walked over to the coffee table one of the books had his name on it just like his fiancé promised. Kun smiled as he picked up his own copy.

“Sorry,” Taeyong said sheepishly, “my hands were so full that I couldn’t check which one was on top without dropping them.” Kun had done so much to help him during the entire process and it was only fair that he have his own special copy.

“No no, this is perfect,” Kun breathed, “thank you.” He couldn’t stop smiling as he held the book close. “I think a celebration is in order,” he said finally looking up at Taeyong.

“We don’t need to do anything big,” Taeyong said, blushing slightly. He didn’t really like being the center of attention that much. It was hard enough with the promotional events.

“We have to do at least  _ something _ . What do you think, Lele?” Kun turned to the toddler. Chenle nodded, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to. “It’s settled then. What about just having everyone over for dinner? We can keep it small,” Kun suggested.

“Right, because having Yuta and Johnny in the same room is always a good idea,” Taeyong said sarcastically. He couldn’t just leave the Japanese man out; Yuta was one of his best friends and Ten’s boyfriend. He was still hurt over the way Johnny had treated him during college, even if it had been years ago.

Kun frowned, but he couldn’t argue. He knew Johnny and Yuta could put their differences aside for Taeyong, but the atmosphere that would create certainly wasn’t worth it. “How about just Johnny?” he amended.

“We’ll figure something out,” Taeyong promised, “just not tonight.” It sucked that his best friends could no longer tolerate each other, but it wasn’t his place to say anything.

“We could always do something just the two of us,” Kun suggested slyly. He felt bad that they couldn’t do something as a group, but as long as they celebrate together someone he would be content.  Taeyong deserved to have all of his friends around.

“Three,” Taeyong corrected, adjusting Chenle to sit higher in his arms. His didn’t particularly want to go out to dinner, but celebrating with his boys sounded incredible.

“Yes, three.  I hereby decree this a family night,” Kun said, “why don’t we do take out tonight and I’ll cook something nice tomorrow?”  Kun absolutely adored cooking for his family, but having extra time to spend with his fiancé and son was so much better.

“Sounds good to me,” Taeyong said, “sound good to you, Lele?” 

Chenle nodded again, “Movie?” Kun just chuckled; he didn’t the think the toddler would ever grow tired of watching movies. “Don’t you want to do something different?” he asked. The toddler shook his head.

“What do you want for dinner, Lele?” Taeyong asked as he finally stepped further into the apartment. “Pizza? Chinese?”

“Chinese,” Chenle answered immediately. “I’ll grab some menus,” Kun said as he disappeared into the kitchen. On top of having family night tonight, they had the whole weekend to spend time together.

“Lele, do you wanna go to a bookstore tomorrow?” Taeyong asked. He had a small book signing and there was nothing he would love more than to see his family there.

Chenle nodded, “Kun baba come too?” “Of course, I’ll be there, baby,” Kun replied when he walked back into the room.  He knew that Taeyong would have to go early to set everything up and that would give him plenty of time to have Chenle help him with a little surprise for Taeyong.

The next day was an early one for Taeyong, but he was happy. The signing had a steadier turnout than he had expected, considering how new he and the book were, and by the time Kun and Chenle showed up, his hand was cramping.

Kun had Chenle's hand held tightly in his own as they walked into the bookstore. He was happy that there were so many people, but he was a little nervous for the toddler. Chenle whimpered quietly and pressed closer to his father when he saw how crowded the bookstore was. Kun quickly reached down and scooped the toddler into his arms. "There's Taeyong baba," he said quietly, hoping to distract his son.

Taeyong smiled when he saw his fiancé and son enter the shop. He finished signing the book in front of him and stood, making his way over to the two.

"Baba!" Chenle said happily when Taeyong made his way over.  He reached toward Taeyong with both arms as he made his way over.  "This is a really great turnout," Kun said supportively.

“It is,” Taeyong said, picking Chenle up, “I’m actually kind of surprised. They did a really good job hyping this up.” He was so excited for this book to be taking off already.

“I’m so happy for you,” Kun said smiling widely. He was so happy to see Taeyong’s book doing well. His fiancé had put so much effort into it and he certainly deserved the success.

Taeyong smiled and leaned over to kiss Kun sweetly. He was so happy knowing that his fiancé was fully behind him. “I have to go back over,” he said regretfully.

Kun sighed contently when Taeyong kissed him. “Of course. You do what you have to do. I’m gonna take Chenle around the bookstore a little,” Kun said.  

“There’s a kids section in the back,” Taeyong said, kissing Kun again before he made his way back to the table.

Kun watched Taeyong walk back to the table. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another couple all but glaring at him. With a sad sigh he scooped Chenle back into his arms. “Come on, baby, let’s go to the back,” he said.

Taeyong had signed a few more copies when a copy suddenly slammed down in front of him, making him jump. He looked up and saw a very angry man in front of him. “I want a refund,” the man said harshly, “I don’t read books by fags.”

Kun set Chenle back down on the floor when they got into the children’s section. The boy happily sat there playing with some blocks while Kun kept an eye on him. Kun snuck a look back at his fiancé and froze when he saw the same man who glared at him, angrily talking to Taeyong.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but you’ll have to talk to the manager, not me,” Taeyong said calmly, “I don’t work for the store.” That just seemed to make the man angrier.

Kun kept a nervous eye on Taeyong. The man seemed to have no plans on leaving and only grew angrier the longer he stood there. Kun didn’t particularly want to get involved for fear of making things worse, but he didn’t like just watching when his fiancé was visibly upset.

“You think anyone will buy your shitty book if they know you’re a fucking fairy?” the man said. Taeyong snorted. “Well, you bought it, so it must not be that bad,” he said. Discreetly, he signaled his manager over.

Kun breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the manager walk over. He looked back at Chenle and the boy was still playing with the blocks, blissfully unaware.

“Did you know you’re sponsoring a homosexual?” the man barked when Taeyong’s manager stepped over. “I did,” the manager replied cheerfully, “now, there’s a line of people waiting to meet Taeyong-ssi, so if you’re all set, the door is that way. Remember, all sales are final!”

From the looks of it, the manager was handling the situation just fine so Kun turned his attention back to Chenle. “Go see Taeyong baba?” he asked. “He’s almost done and they we can go see him, baby,” Kun replied.

Taeyong was glad that his manager was the person he was. He didn’t take shit from anyone, especially raging, spitting homophobes. By the time the man and his family had been escorted out, he’d thrown around every insult in the book and Taeyong was shaking. Even Chenle had noticed; Taeyong could see him trying to pull out of Kun’s grip. “Sorry about that, folks,” the manager said as he came back over to Taeyong’s table, “Taeyong-ssi is going to take a quick ten minute break and then he’ll keep signing. If any of the rest of you suddenly have an issue with a queer author at a queer bookstore, this is the time to discreetly excuse yourselves.”

Kun was glad the manager had given Taeyong a break, he certainly looked like he needed one. He had only caught a few of the things the man had said, but it was still enough to sting. Only after everything settled back down did Kun allow Chenle to run over to Taeyong. He followed close behind the toddler and kept a weary eye on the remaining crowd.

Taeyong was glad to see Chenle pop up behind him. "Hi, baby," he said wearily, picking the boy up and settling him on his lap, "are you having fun?"

Chenle nodded, “Build a castle.” He looked up at Taeyong and furrowed his eyebrows, “baba, sad?” Kun grabbed an extra chair from the side and dragged it next to his fiancé. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked quietly. One look at Taeyong’s face confirmed his answer and he reached out to take his hand.

"Yeah, I'm just a little shaken up," Taeyong said, holding Chenle securely, "I haven't had a confrontation like that in a really long time." He looked down at his son and smiled softly. "I'm okay, baby."

Chenle snuggled closer to Taeyong. "I'm sorry this had to happen today, babe," Kun said sympathetically, "we'll stay until the event is over." Sighing softly, he scooted his chair a little closer.

Taeyong leaned closer to Kun so he could speak without being overheard. "I think I have a fansite," he said mumbled, subtly jerking his head toward a teenage girl with a small but expensive camera around her neck. He didn't mind the idea; he knew there would certainly be press at least, but he wasn't sure about having Chenle's face plastered everywhere in way that he had no control over.

Kun sat back so he could sneak a subtle glance at the girl. "It looks like it. Why don't I take Chenle back to the children's section and we can wait for you to finish up over there?" he asked. He didn't like the idea of leaving Taeyong, especially after the nasty comments that were thrown around a little while ago.

Taeyong pouted and immediately heard the camera go off. He wanted to keep Chenle with him, but he definitely wanted to keep him out of the press as much as he could. "Yeah," he said with a sigh, "I only have an hour left."’

Kun nodded and took Chenle back into his arms. “Enjoy the last hour as much as you can and we’ll be right over there,” he said supportively. He made sure to keep his back to the girl as he stood.

The last hour actually went pretty quickly. Taeyong kept peeking at the young girl out of the corner of his eye, but she didn't get in the signing line until the very end. By the time she had gotten to the table, he had made his mind up. He had snagged a sticky note from the manager and stuck it in her book as he signed, asking that she blur Chenle's face when she published the photos and tried to avoid photographing him in the future. Hopefully, she would agree.

Kun waited until the crowd had cleared out before he brought Chenle back over to Taeyong. It was glad that the last hour had gone as smoothly as it did. "All in all not a bad turnout," he commented when they walked over. Despite the angry man from earlier the rest of the event had gone relatively well.

“No, it actually went pretty well, all things considered,” Taeyong said as he lifted Chenle off of Kun, “I asked the girl to blur Lele’s face, so hopefully she will.”

"I hope so too," Kun said. He didn't expect the girl to create any problems for them, but they would have to wait and see. "Are you ready to go home?" he asked. As well as the event turned out Kun could only imagine how tired Taeyong was.

“Absolutely,” Taeyong said, adjusting Chenle in his arms. He was ready to head home and take a nap. They both were.

Kun was more than happy to take his family home. The car ride went as normal with Chenle dancing to the radio while staring out the window. "Lele, why don't you go and get what you made for Taeyong from your room," Kun said when they walked in the door. The toddler nodded and wiggled in Taeyong's arms, waiting to be put down.

Taeyong carefully put Chenle down, fixing his shirt before letting the toddler go. “What did he make for me?” he asked Kun suspiciously, knowing that his fiancé 100% had something to do with this.

"Just a little something," Kun said cryptically as a small smile spread across his lips. While Taeyong was busy setting up at the bookstore, Kun had Chenle work on a small surprise for his fiancé to celebrate the book's launch. A few moments later the toddler came running out of his room, Taeyong's gift held tightly in his hand. "Ta da!" he said proudly as he held up a card adorned with the toddler's own artwork. Written across the front was "Congratulations, Taeyong baba!" with a picture of the three of them. "Open it! Open it!" Chenle added excitedly.

Taeyong crouched down and carefully took the card from Chenle’s hand. He admired Chenle’s artwork, recognizing the handwriting as Kun’s. “Kunnie,” he said, warning in his voice. Taeyong hated surprises more than anything.

"It's just a card, Tae, I promise. Go ahead and open it," Kun said soothingly. Inside was a short note he had written about how proud he was of Taeyong and how happy he was for his fiancé, and of course more drawings from Chenle. "My surprise comes later," he added with a small smirk.

Taeyong flipped the card open, a smile growing on his face as his read Kun’s little note. “This is adorable,” he said, turning back to his son, “thank you, Lele!”

Chenle smiled proudly and happily hugged Taeyong back. "You're welcome, baba," he said. "I'm glad you like it. Lele was very excited to make this for you," Kun said. Even though the card was his idea he still knew it meant more that Chenle had been so eager to help.

“I really like your drawings, Lele,” Taeyong said with a soft smile, “I’m gonna go put this on my desk, okay?”

Chenle nodded and finally let go of Taeyong. "Alright, baby, let's go get you changed for a nap while Taeyong puts away your card," Kun said taking the toddler's hand in his own as they followed Taeyong down the hall.

Taeyong stood up and made his way down the hall to his and Kun’s bedroom. He set the card on his desk, smiling as it settled among Chenle’s other drawings.

Once Chenle was changed, Kun laid him down in his bed. After placing a light kiss to his son's forehead, he left the room and went to find his fiancé. "We're going to have to find somewhere to put all of these," Kun said as he walked over to Taeyong's desk and looked at all of Chenle's pictures covering it.

“How about a new apartment?” Taeyong asked quietly. He had been talking to his agent and his incoming royalty checks would be more than enough to move out of his crappy college apartment.

Kun's eyes widened, but he had to admit he liked the sound of that idea. "We could definitely look around. Although this one does fit us all," he said. He wasn't sure if Taeyong would ever want to adopt another baby, but they would certainly need a bigger apartment should their family grow more.

“It does but it won’t for long,” Taeyong said. Even if they didn’t have another kid, Chenle was a growing boy and he would soon need a lot more space than the virtual closet he was currently housed in.

Kun nodded in agreement. There were a lot of memories associated with this apartment, but change could be a good thing for them. "When do you want to start looking?" he asked. If they could find a larger apartment closer to his work, he would be able to spend much more time with his family.

“Oh god, not til Fujian at least,” Taeyong said. He definitely wanted to move, but not so quickly. They could wait a few months.

"We don't  _ have  _ to go to Fujian. There's plenty of other places we can visit," Kun said. As much as he would love to go home, his family's happiness was much more important and he didn't want to risk his parents ruining that.

“I want to go to Fujian,” Taeyong said, “I want Chenle to see where you’re from, and know that we aren’t ever going to keep him from China. And you haven’t been home in ages.”

Kun's small smile at Taeyong's support quickly faltered. "But my parents. I want them to meet Chenle, but I'm worried that might not be the best idea," he said nervously.

“It’s been six years, Kunnie,” Taeyong said gently, “you’re all different people now. Lele might even make them warm up to us. We won’t know if we don’t try.”

Kun looked up at Taeyong. "You're right; we won't know if we don't try," he said. He took a deep breath and after a moment finally said, "let's go to Fujian." The smile slowly worked its way back onto his face as soon as the words left his mouth.

Taeyong smiled and stood up fully so he could kiss Kun. When he pulled away, he let his arms stay on his fiancé’s shoulders. “You’ll have to take me on a date in Fujian,” he said.

"I would love to. I happen to remember a couple of places that would be perfect for us," Kun said happily. As excited as he was that he would be going home, he couldn't quite shake the nerves. Pushing the worries about his parents from his head, Kun focused on Taeyong instead and wrapped his arms around his fiancé's waist, pulling him close again.

“Take me on the first date you would’ve if we had met there,” Taeyong requested. He swayed slightly in Kun’s arms, feeling content.

Kun's smile only widened. "Consider it done," he said immediately. He had a few ideas in mind, but he would definitely have to think about it more to make sure it turned out perfect. "Any other requests?" Kun asked quietly as he leaned closer.

“I wanna meet your friends in Fujian,” Taeyong said softly, “you know all my friends from home. I wanna know yours.”

Kun sighed sadly and struggled to keep his face even. "Sure, babe. I'd love to introduce you to my friends," he said. He had lost contact with his friends from home over the years and he wondered if he'd even be able to connect with any of them again.

“You don’t have to,” Taeyong said, noticing the slight way Kun’s face fell, “I just thought it might be nice.” He knew Kun hadn’t been home as long as they had been together, so he wondered if he even still talked to his old friends.

"No, it would be really nice," Kun assured, "I haven't talked to them in a while so it would be great to see them. I'm sure they'd love to meet you." He would definitely have to go digging to see if he had any of their phone numbers still, but that was something that could wait until the trip got closer. For now he just enjoyed holding Taeyong in his arms.

Taeyong smiled widely then leaned up to kiss Kun again. He felt so happy, so fulfilled.

Kun kissed Taeyong back forcefully. He tightened his grip around his fiancé's waist and pulled him closer. Things were starting to look up again and he hoped it stayed that way.

“Ew, baba!” Taeyong pulled away from Kun suddenly when he heard Chenle giggling in the doorway. “Baby, why are you up?” he asked, “it’s naptime.”

Kun nearly jumped when Chenle appeared in the doorway. "Heard you talking; wanted to come see," the toddler replied, looking up at his fathers hesitantly. "Come on, Lele, let's get you back to bed," Kun said gently, reluctantly unwrapping his arms from Taeyong's waist.

Taeyong flopped himself back on the bed when Kun disappeared with Chenle. He loved his son, he did, but he also appreciated his moments alone with Kun.

Kun put Chenle back to bed and waited until the toddler had settled down before going back to his room. “Now where were we?” he asked as he climbed onto the bed.

Taeyong grabbed Kun’s shirt and positively yanked the younger toward him. He didn’t even give Kun a proper verbal response. He just kissed him hard.

Kun gasped when he was pulled towards Taeyong. He eagerly kissed his fiancé back, arms coming to rest on either side of his head. “Did you miss me?” he teased when he pulled away, panting slightly.

“I did,” Taeyong said, breathing heavily. He always missed Kun, even when the younger was right next to him. He simply loved the younger that much.

Kun smiled and leaned back down, leaving his lips just centimeters from Taeyong's. "I missed you too," he breathed. He hoped Chenle didn't decide to get up again anytime soon.

Taeyong kisses Kun again, bringing his hands up to rest on the younger’s waist. They hadn’t gone even this far since the miscarriage and Taeyong would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous.

Kun hummed contently, reveling in the feeling of his fiancé's soft lips on his own. He was more than happy to take things slow considering they hadn't done anything like this in a while.  

Taeyong slid his hand under Kun’s shirt, content to feel his fiancé’s smooth skin under his palm. He loved every part of Kun’s body.

Kun tilted his head, desperately trying to deepen the kiss. He almost broke away to pull his shirt off, but decided against it for now. Instead he simply enjoyed the feeling of Taeyong’s hand running over his body.

Kun had put on a bit of weight since college - not a ton, just enough to be noticeable - and Taeyong absolutely loved it. He much preferred his boys with soft tummies and Kun’s was simply perfect in his eyes. “You’re so fucking hot,” he mumbled.

Kun pulled away and hide his head in his fiancé’s neck. “Babe,” he whined quietly. Taeyong was constantly showering him in compliments, but he still managed to get flustered almost every time.  Slowly he kissed up Taeyong’s neck until he reached the elder’s jawline.

Taeyong tipped his head back with a shaky sigh. His neck was still easily the most sensitive part of his body and Kun’s lips there always set him on fire.

Kun smiled and continued leaving kisses across Taeyong’s jawline. Slowly he worked his way back down the elder’s neck. He had to refrain himself from sinking his teeth into the soft skin, not wanting to leave any marks that Chenle could ask about.

Taeyong could feel every time Kun’s teeth grazed his skin, coming close but never biting. “He won’t see my chest,” he mumbled helpfully.

Kun smirked into Taeyong’s neck and reached down to push his fiancé’s shirt forcefully up his torso. He pulled back slightly and let his eyes wander over Taeyong’s face.

Taeyong locked eyes with Kun and slowly reached down to pull his shirt off all the way. He was Kun’s completely.

Kun smiled letting his eyes move from Taeyong’s face to his body. Despite everything he had been through, the elder was absolutely gorgeous. Slowly Kun leaned back down and kissed down Taeyong’s chest, eventually biting down gently.

Taeyong shuddered, doing his best to not moan outright. He loved it when Kun gave him hickeys. In slight retaliation, he deftly opened Kun’s shorts and palmed him through his boxers.

Kun gasped when Taeyong palmed him. He was incredibly sensitive on account that it had been a long time and he found himself subtly pushing his hips into Taeyong’s hand. Taking a shaky breath, he moved from the mark he was making to start another one just next to it.

Taeyong got even bolder. He slipped his hand inside Kun’s boxers and stroked his fiancé off as best as he could with no lube.

Kun bit into Taeyong’s chest again but he couldn’t help the quiet moan that still escaped. One of his hands came to rest of his fiancés waist, while the other continued to prop himself up.

Taeyong gasped, his hand faltering slightly. “You should grab the lube,” he said breathlessly.

Kun reluctantly pulled away from Taeyong’s chest. He leaned over to reach the nightstand and not so subtly ground his hips down. Smirking he turned back towards the elder with the lube in hand.

Taeyong snatched the lube from Kun and poured some on his hand. He shoved the younger’s shorts and boxers down just enough for his cock to spring free and wrapped his hand back around it, stroking slowly.

Kun moaned again, a little louder this time. Panting slightly, he leaned down again and nipped at Taeyong’s collar bone. His hand on the elder’s waist slid down to the waistband of his pants.

Taeyong quieted Kun by kissing him deeply. He threaded the fingers of his free hand into Kun’s hair, tugging gently.

Kun easily let himself be pulled towards Taeyong’s lips. He kissed his fiancé back forcefully. “F-Feels good, babe,” he gasped out when they broke away to catch their breaths. He pushed insistently on Taeyong’s pants, encouraging the elder to lift his hips so Kun could push them off.

Taeyong lifted his hips off the bed carefully. He didn’t want to rush, but he knew they didn’t have much time either. “You’re so pretty,” he murmured.

Kun hummed appreciatively and leaned down to kiss Taeyong again. He carefully pushed the elder’s pants and boxers off and reached for the bottle of lube again.

Taeyong was about to kiss Kun back when he suddenly heard a wail from the other side of the room. He dropped his head against the pillow with a groan and gently pushed Kun off of him. “I’ll take care of him,” he said as he fixed his pants, “you take care of that.”


	10. Chapter 10

Kun sighed sadly and rolled to the side to allow Taeyong to get up. He didn’t particularly want to finish himself off but he didn’t have much of a choice. He was just grateful Chenle didn’t decide to wander in again.

Taeyong cooed as he picked up his crying son. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked softly, rubbing Chenle’s back as the boy clung to him, wetting his shoulder with snot and tears.

Chenle couldn’t answer right away and continued to sob into Taeyong’s shoulder. “Bad dream,” he finally whimpered when he had calmed down enough.

“Oh, darling, it’s okay,” Taeyong said, bouncing Chenle slightly as he paced around the room, “What was the dream, love?”

Chenle was too overwhelmed to remember any Korean to be of use so he did his best to sign along as he spoke Mandarin. “Took me away,” he said sadly. Recounting his dream brought on a fresh round of tears and Chenle continued to hold onto Taeyong tightly.

Taeyong, thankfully, understood the gist of what Chenle was telling him and he felt his heart clench. “They will never ever take you away from us, Lele,” he said quietly, “you’re ours for good, okay?”

“Promise?” Chenle asked finally looking up. He had finally stopped crying but a few tears continued to run down his cheeks.

“I promise,” Taeyong said seriously, wiping the tears away from the boy’s eyes gently. He had never been more serious in his life.

Chenle hugged Taeyong tightly. “Wanna stay forever," he said quietly. The toddler snuggled as close to his father as he possibly could, content to be wrapped securely in his arms.

“Good,” Taeyong said, “Because we want to keep you forever.” He tried to mentally estimate how much time had passed and if Kun would be finished. Chenle definitely needed to see his other baba.

Kun was relieved when he heard Chenle stop crying. When he was finally presentable, he made his way into his son's room. "What happened, Lele?" he asked gently.

“He had a bad dream,” Taeyong said, still holding Chenle tightly. He wanted the boy to know that Taeyong wasn’t ever planning on letting him go, not when it had taken so much to get him there.

"Oh no, baby, it's okay," Kun said quietly as he walked towards the pair, "it's all over now and you're safe with us." Taeyong obviously did not want to let Chenle go so Kun simply reached out to wipe a stray tear off of the toddler's cheek.

“Do you want to come sleep with me and Kun baba?” Taeyong asked Chenle, getting a nod in response. It was edging toward the late afternoon, but they could all use a bit of a nap.

Kun smiled softly when Chenle nodded and led the way back into his and Taeyong’s room. Once his fiancé and son had laid down, Kun slowly climbed into bed and settled down next to them.

Taeyong settled Chenle between the two do them, letting the boy cuddle up to them as he wanted. To his surprise, the baby didn’t let go of him.

“Everything’s okay, baby,” Kun whispered soothingly when he noticed how tightly Chenle was holding onto Taeyong. The toddler whimpered quietly and didn’t loosen his hold.

Taeyong rubbed Chenle’s back gently, trying to lull the boy back to sleep. “Lele, can you lay with Kunnie for a few minutes so I can go get changed?” Taeyong asked, suddenly hyper aware of the hickeys littering his bare chest.

Chenle nodded and slowly loosened his grip on Taeyong. Kun gently reached out and pulled the toddler against him. Looking up at his fiancé, he smirked as he looked over his handiwork. 

Taeyong got up, retrieving his shirt from the floor, and disappeared into the bathroom to wash up and change. When he returned, it was in a long sleeve shirt and sweatpants, hickeys fully covered.

By the time Taeyong came back, Chenle was already falling back asleep. He whined sleepily when he noticed his father, but didn't move from where he laid against Kun's side. Kun carefully reached his free arm out towards his fiancé. 

Taeyong laid back down with his family. He was a little concerned about the fact that Chenle was having nightmares about them leaving him. He wondered if it was connected to the miscarriage at all.

"Get some rest, babe," Kun said quietly when Taeyong laid down. He frowned slightly when he saw his fiancé's worried expression. "Everything's okay, I promise," he added soothingly.

Taeyong sighed and laid down, reaching a hand out to card through Chenle’s hair gently. The boy had been having a lot of nightmares lately and it had him worried.

"He'll be okay," Kun said, stifling a yawn. He looked down at Chenle and was glad to see that the boy had fallen back to sleep. After taking one last look at Taeyong, Kun let his own eyes slowly close.

“He’s scared we’re going to send him back,” Taeyong said quietly, not wanting to wake the boy up again

Kun's eyes flew open and he stared at his fiancé. Sighing softly, he tightened his grip around Chenle. "Why...why does he think we'd send him back?" he asked sadly. Had they not done enough to show Chenle how much they love him? Did spending so much time with Ten instead of them convince the boy they didn't want him?

“I’m not sure,” Taeyong said sadly, “maybe because we told him the baby had to go away? I really don’t know.” He wished he could do more to soothe Chenle’s fears.

Kun sighed and looked back down at the sleeping toddler. "Hopefully now that you'll be home with him all the time, he'll see how much we love him," he said quietly. He felt bad that there wasn't more he could do and he almost regretted explaining what happened to the baby to Chenle.

Taeyong nodded in agreement. “I think Fujian will help him too,” he said, “I bet he’s seriously homesick on top of everything.” Even though Taeyong himself hadn’t been home in years, at least he was always surrounded by his language and his culture.

"I can imagine," Kun said softly, not taking his eyes off of Chenle, "I hope he enjoys the trip. He probably won't remember it when he's older, but at least he can enjoy it now."

Taeyong nodded in agreement. He was nervous now. What if taking Chenle back to China just made the boy’s fears worse? He would feel so guilty.

"Let's get some rest and hopefully he'll feel better when he wakes up," Kun said gently. He knew they could both use some rest just as much as Chenle could.

“Set an alarm for like two hours so we can still have dinner at a reasonable time,” Taeyong mumbled. Despite his earlier energy, he was exhausted now.

Kun reached behind him, careful not to disturb Chenle and grabbed his phone. Once he had set an alarm, he carefully put the phone back down. As much as he wanted to wrap himself around Taeyong, Kun was content to have Chenle between them.

Taeyong scooted closer, sandwiching Chenle between him and Kun. Hopefully, the boy would feel better when he woke up. Taeyong hated seeing his son sad.

Kun reached out and rested his hand on Taeyong's waist, letting his thumb slowly move back and forth. He let his eyes close again and drifted off to sleep. All he wanted when he woke up was for his son to be happy.

When Taeyong woke up, Chenle was already awake and had shuffled away from Kun toward him. “How are you feeling, baby?” he asked quietly, not wanting to wake his fiancé.

"Better," Chenle replied simply. He cuddled the rest of the way up to Taeyong and reached up to hold onto his shirt tightly. Chenle was scared to let go of either of his fathers for fear of his nightmare coming true.

Taeyong rolled onto his back, taking Chenle with him so the toddler was laying on his chest. Carefully, he removed Chenle’s tiny fist from his shirt and pulled the boy up to hug his neck instead. “You know that I’ll never let anything bad happen to you, right Lele?” he asked quietly.

Chenle whined quietly when Taeyong removed his hand from his shirt, and quickly wrapped his arms around his father’s neck. He nodded and snuggled closer, happy with Taeyong’s promise. The toddler had grown quite fond of his parents and he didn’t want to be separated from them for more than a few hours, let alone forever.

“Kun baba and I are always gonna protect you, no matter what,” Taeyong said softly, and he meant it. He would never let any harm come to his baby boy if he could help it.

Chenle laid there for a moment. “Make the bad dreams stop?” he asked quietly. He tightened his grip around Taeyong’s neck, scared for his father’s answer.

“Not really,” Taeyong said regretfully, “but I’ll always be here to make sure that they never come true. Okay?”

Chenle whimpered quietly, but eventually nodded. As long as he could stay with Taeyong and Kun forever he was happy. He jumped when the alarm started going off and watched Kun sleepily roll over to shut it off.

“It’s just Kun baba’s alarm,” Taeyong said, rubbing Chenle’s back soothingly, “He’s gonna get up and help us make dinner, Lele.”

Kun rolled back over and saw Chenle staring at him with wide-eyes. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to scare you," he said quietly. Clearing his throat, he reached out and gently smoothed the toddler's hair down. "Relax for a few more minutes and I'll go get started," he said to Taeyong. With a soft sigh, he finally dragged himself out of bed and meandered into the kitchen.

Taeyong sat up against the pillows, gently pulling Chenle away from his neck to sit in his lap instead. "Do you wanna help Kunnie cook or do you wanna stay with me while I do some work?" he asked, knowing he had to respond to some emails before the day was over.

“Stay with you,” Chenle replied as he settled himself comfortably on Taeyong’s lap. He loved helping Kun cook, but he didn’t like the idea of having to let go of Taeyong just yet.

Taeyong was glad his computer was nearby. With Chenle staying in their room so much and being so clingy, he had learned to just keep it on his bedside table instead of the other side of the room. Carefully, he leaned over to grab the device and open it, setting it next to him on the bed.

Chenle looked at Taeyong’s computer, but he didn’t understand enough of what was on it to be interested for long. Instead he played with the hem of Taeyong’s shirt. Kun was surprised that Chenle hadn’t come out to the kitchen to help him yet, but he didn’t mind. It was nice to see the toddler spending so much time with his fiancé considering how little they were together in the beginning.

Taeyong got through his emails fairly quickly then switched to Netflix. He put on an older Disney movie for Chenle and cuddled the boy in his lap. "Are you hungry, baby?"

Chenle nodded but didn’t make any move to get up. He was more than content to stay on Taeyong’s lap and finish his movie first.

Taeyong hummed. Whatever Kun was making them for dinner smelled really good. As much as enjoyed cooking, his fiancé was undoubtedly better.

Ten minutes later, Kun had dinner on the table, but his family was nowhere to be found. “Come and eat, sleepyheads,” he called down the hallway. He didn’t blame them for wanting to stay in bed, lazy days like this were always the best, especially if Chenle was still upset from his nightmare.

"It's dinnertime, Lele," Taeyong said, reaching over to the pause the movie, "we'll finish the movie later, okay?" He got out of the bed and hoisted Chenle up, carrying the boy out to the kitchen.

Chenle whined but didn’t resist. “There you two are,” Kun said with a smile. The smile quickly faded when Chenle refused to sit in his booster seat and only clung onto Taeyong tighter. “Oh, Lele, it’s okay,” he said quietly.

“Baby, we’re right here, we’re not going anywhere,” Taeyong said as he gently but firmly removed Chenle’s grip on his shirt. “You have to sit in your chair so we can eat dinner.”

“No, no!” Chenle said quickly. “Kun baba,” the toddler turned his attention to his other father and reached his arms out desperately. “Lele, you have to sit in your seat now, but we can cuddle again after dinner,” he said not taking Chenle from Taeyong. This only caused the toddler to burst into tears.

“Oh, dear,” Taeyong murmured. Unfortunately, he knew that there were some things he couldn’t coddle Chenle through, and this was one of them. He wouldn’t get his way every time just by crying. With a sigh, Taeyong moved Chenle to his booster seat and motioned for Kun to start eating.

Kun sighed sadly, but started eating anyway. He didn’t take more than a few bites before he slid his chair over next to Chenle. The toddler stopped outwardly crying and watched Kun curiously, still whimpering quietly. “Here, baby, try and eat,” he said gently as he offered Chenle some dinner. The toddler ignored the food and reached out for Kun again. “No, baby, you have to sit in your spot, but I’m gonna stay next to you,” he said.

“Kunnie,” Taeyong said warningly, “Lele knows we’re here. He needs to know that crying isn’t the answer to all his problems.” It was a gentle nudge, but a nudge nonetheless.

Kun nodded and slowly slid his chair back away from the toddler. As much as he wanted to stay next to his son, Taeyong was right. “Baba,” Chenle whined again, arms still extended. “It’s okay, Lele, I’m right here. Please try and eat something,” Kun said gently.

“Eat, Lele,” Taeyong said, “if you finish your dinner, then we can go finish your movie, okay?”

Chenle slowly lowered his arms, still keeping a wary eye on his fathers. After watching Taeyong and Kun eat for a moment, he took a few bites of his own dinner before pushing his plate forward with both hands. “Movie?” he asked. “Not yet, you need to eat a little more,” Kun said as he pushed the plate back in front of the toddler. Chenle pouted, but thankfully didn’t start crying again.

Taeyong kept quiet, watching Chenle. The boy was sulky but he didn’t seem as worried about them leaving anymore. It made him wonder what exactly the boy had gone through in China that gave him such awful separation anxiety.

Kun was glad that Chenle had calmed down enough to keep eating. He kept an eye on the toddler and chuckled as his shirt caught all the food that missed his mouth. “You’re gonna need a bath before you finish your movie, Lele,” he commented. When he was done, Kun carefully stood up to bring his dish to the sink and was grateful that Chenle remained calm.

Taeyong reached over with his napkin to clean off Chenle’s face before clearing away both of their empty plates. “Why don’t you go pick out clothes, Lele?”

Chenle hopped off his chair, but was hesitant to leave the kitchen. “We’ll meet you in our room, Chenle,” Kun said, “go ahead and pick what you want to wear.” He watched the toddler and sighed sadly. It was taking everything he had not to lift his son into his arms and carry him to the bedroom.

“I feel so bad,” Taeyong whined the second Chenle had left the room, “I just wanted to hug him and make him feel better, but I know we have to stop coddling him so much.”

“I know, I know. I do too. He was doing fine so I really don’t know what happened. Let’s just take it day by day and hopefully he’ll be okay soon,” Kun said, “we just have to stop coddling him gradually so he doesn’t get upset like this again.” Maybe Kun spoiling Chenle so much when he first came to live with them was the culprit for the toddler’s behavior. He washed the dishes slowly to keep himself from rushing off to check on his son.

"I don't want him to feel neglected but we need him to start being more independent," Taeyong said worrying at his lip. He grabbed a towel to dry the dishes Kun was washing. "I'm worried that it'll start getting worse with me home with him all day."

“He is only two, Tae; he still needs us for a lot,” Kun said slowly, “you’re still going to have work to do with the book so maybe set aside a couple hours a day where he has to play by himself so you can get your stuff done.” Kun was not ready to stop doing stuff for Chenle, considering the toddler was probably attempting to put his shirt on as they spoke.

"Obviously he still needs us for stuff, but we won't be around all the time forever," Taeyong said quietly, not wanting Chenle to overhear, "and what about when he goes to school?"

"That isn't for another couple years. I'm sure he'll be better by then. Plus almost every kid has a hard time going to school for the first time so it'll take some adjusting," Kun said. He didn't like to worry that far into the future. "He's gonna be okay. Let's give it another couple weeks and see how he does and then we can surprise him with the trip."

“Okay,” Taeyong agreed with a sigh as Chenle tottered back into the kitchen. “Baba, movie?” the boy asked quietly. “In a minute, baby,” Taeyong said as he reached for the last plate, “I’m almost done.”

Kun dried his hands on the towel and turned to face the toddler. "Come here, Lele," he said gently. Chenle walked slowly over to Kun, who immediately scooped the boy up. “Let’s go see what you picked out.” He carried Chenle into the bedroom and helped the toddler get changed. When Kun got back to the kitchen, he leaned against the counter so Chenle could see what Taeyong was doing.

Taeyong finished drying the plate and put it away in the cabinet. He folded the towel and placed it on the counter before finally turning to his family. “Alright, it’s movie time,” he said.

Chenle beamed at Taeyong's announcement and wiggled out of Kun's arms. The second the toddler's feet hit the floor he was off and running to the bedroom. "I think he's feeling better," Kun commented as he followed Chenle down the hallway.

Taeyong smiled and took Kun’s hand, leading him down the hallway to where Chenle was waiting patiently for them. “Who do you wanna sit with, Lele?”

Chenle looked between his father's for a moment. "Middle?" he asked hopefully. Kun smiled, "alright, baby." The toddler smiled triumphantly and climbed into bed, with a little help from Kun. He scooted into the middle of the bed and eagerly waited for his fathers to lie down with him.

Taeyong passed Kun his laptop and laid down next to Chenle, propping himself up on his elbow.

Kun placed the laptop on his lap and turned it so that Chenle and Taeyong could see. Chenle had pressed himself against Taeyong, but reached out a small hand to hold onto Kun's shirt. Kun sighed and shifted over so he was closer to the toddler. He pressed play and leaned back against the headboard.

Taeyong was out like a light within minutes of the movie starting. He was exhausted from his book signing still and he felt content with his family around him.

Kun looked down and smiled softly when he saw that Taeyong had fallen asleep. He slowly reached over and gently ran his fingers through Taeyong's hair; his smile widened as he thought about the vibrant colors it used to be dyed when they were in college. Sighing contently he looked down at his son. Chenle was still awake and completely engrossed in his movie.

Impressively, Chenle managed to make it through the entire movie without falling asleep. By the end up it, he was cuddled up against Kun’s side. “Baba?” he asked when it was over, “You and Taeyong baba still sad?”

Kun sighed sadly and was grateful that Taeyong was still asleep. He didn't want to lie to Chenle, but how is he supposed to explain to a two year old that the pain of losing the baby would never go away? "A little bit," he finally said, "but spending time with you makes us happy." He dropped his voice, but still spoke in Mandarin in case he woke Taeyong up.

Chenle was quiet for a moment. He shuffled closer to Kun and said quietly, “Still scared. Don’t wanna leave like the baby.”

"Oh, Lele, don't think like that," Kun said quickly. He put the laptop on the nightstand so that he could pulled the toddler onto his lap. "You'll never have to leave us. You're gonna stay with us forever, okay?" he continued quietly. He felt horrible that Chenle was so scared and he hoped he could convince the toddler that he didn't have to worry about leaving.

“But you wanted the baby and it still left,” Chenle said insistently, “why did you let it leave?” He didn’t fully understand why the baby had to go, just that it made his babas very sad.

Kun's heart clenched. He knew Chenle was too young to understand, but it didn't make this conversation any easier. "Sometimes things happen that we can't control," Kun said sadly, "but what we can control is you staying with us. I promise you that we will never let you leave." He tightened his grip around the toddler trying to comfort both of them.

Chenle still didn’t understand. “Tennie said Taeyong baba loved the baby,” he said, clutching Kun’s shirt tightly, “why would it leave if he loved it that much?” That was the one thing Chenle would never understand. His entire life, he’d been told that “Mama loved you, that’s why she had to leave you” and it had never once made sense to him.

Kun fought to keep his voice even. “The baby was very sick and we couldn’t help he...” he quickly trailed off. He knew it would destroy Chenle if the toddler found out he would have had a sister so he was glad he caught himself. “Don’t worry, Lele, we’ll take good care of you so you don’t have to leave us,” he added. Kun was doing his best not to upset the toddler, but he knew it wasn’t working well.

Chenle believed Kun. Nothing he or Taeyong had done had suggested to him that they would ever abandon him, except for his nightmares. But the Kun and Taeyong in his nightmares were nothing like the Kun and Taeyong in real life. Still, he was scared. “You won’t send me back to China?”

“Never. We want you to stay with us,” Kun assured quickly, “you make us so happy, Lele, and we would never dream of sending you back.” It made him sad that Chenle was so scared of being sent back and he hoped the toddler wouldn’t have this fear forever.

Chenle sat up on his knees and leaned over to hug Kun tightly. “I love you, baba,” he mumbled quietly. He didn’t ever want to leave his babas.

"I love you too, Chenle," Kun said as he wrapped his arms around the toddler. His mouth curled into a smile; this was the first time Chenle had told him he loved him and it made him so happy. He just hoped they made the toddler as happy as he made them. Even though it was edging towards Chenle's bedtime, he wanted to wait until Taeyong woke up so he could say goodnight.

Chenle yawned, still clinging to Kun. “Stay here tonight?” he asked quietly. He was scared that the nightmares would come back if he slept in his own bed.

"Sure, baby, you can stay tonight, but you have to promise you'll try to sleep in your own bed tomorrow," Kun said. He knew Taeyong wouldn't approve of Chenle staying the night, but once he explained everything he hoped his fiancé wouldn't mind making an exception. Carefully, Kun moved Chenle back onto the middle of the bed and laid down on his side, facing the toddler.

Taeyong had woken up somewhere in the middle of Kun and Chenle’s conversation, but his tired brain couldn’t comprehend any of the Mandarin. Once Chenle laid down again, he reached out to hold the boy securely and fell back asleep.

Kun smiled as Chenle happily settled into Taeyong's arms. He watched the toddler closely and waited until he heard his breathing even out to close his own eyes. Content to be laying with his family, Kun drifted off to sleep with a small smile on his face.

A few days later found Taeyong home with Chenle for a day, having received a break in the middle of his busy promotions. The boy was coloring at Taeyong’s desk while Taeyong himself was laying in bed with his laptop, responding to some emails. It was a nice, slow morning for them both. Once Taeyong was done with his emails, he decided to get changed. Stripping off his shirt, he dropped it in the laundry basket and made his way over to his closet to find something to wear.

Chenle looked up when he heard Taeyong get out of bed and watched his father closely. His eyes widened when he noticed what looked to be writing on Taeyong’s side. He couldn’t read what it said, but he was curious nonetheless. “Baba, what’s that?” he asked as he hopped off the chair and walked closer to get a better look.

“What’s what, baby?” Taeyong asked as he finally decided on a shirt. He turned toward his son and crouched down when he saw Chenle walking over to him.

Chenle quickly realized there was more writing and even a picture in the same black ink on Taeyong’s shoulder and chest. He had no idea what they were or how they got there, and he stopped a few feet away, too scared to get closer. “That,” he said nervously jabbing his finger towards Taeyong’s chest.

Taeyong smiled softly when he realized that Chenle was talking about his tattoos. He tossed the shirt on the bed and picked his son up, settling the boy on his hip. “These are called tattoos,” he explained, “they’re like special drawings on my skin that don’t go away.”

Chenle stared at the tattoos, almost waiting for something to happen, but it never did. “Hurt?” he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off of the small hand on Taeyong’s shoulder.

“Not at all,” Taeyong assured him with a small smile. He pointed at the one on his chest. “This one is Kun baba’s name,” he explained, “and I’m gonna our your name right here.” He moved his finger down just slightly.

Chenle smiled and reached a small hand out to carefully run his fingers over Kun’s name. He frowned when it didn’t feel like anything.

“And you know this one, Lele,” Taeyong said, pointing to the hand on his shoulder. He wondered if Chenle remembered the sign; they had been slacking on teaching him.

“Love!” Chenle said excitedly. He curled his fingers to match the picture and pressed his hand to Taeyong’s skin.

Taeyong smiled softly and held Chenle’s hand to his shoulder loosely. He was glad that Chenle remembered.

Chenle giggled quietly. “More?” he asked looking up at Taeyong hopefully.

“Yeah, I have more,” Taeyong said. He switched Chenle to his other hip and lifted his arm to show off the quote on his side. “Uncle J has this one too.”

Chenle frowned as he tried to read the quote but couldn’t. “Baba, what does it say?” he asked quietly.

"Never let a single soul tell you that you can't be exactly who you are," Taeyong recited. He lowered his arm and held Chenle even tighter.

Chenle didn’t exactly know what that meant, but he at least knew it was important. “Baba, I want one,” he said matter-of-factly, staring at Taeyong expectantly.

"Sure, baby, what do you want?" Taeyong asked, playing along. They had plenty of non-toxic washable markers that he could certainly give Chenle a temporary tattoo with.

Chenle thought for a moment before jabbing his finger against Taeyong’s shoulder. “Love,” he said definitely after a moment.

Taeyong smiled and set Chenle down so he could grab a thin-tip pen off of his desk. "Where do you want it, baby?"

“Like you,” Chenle said. He climbed back into Taeyong’s desk chair and immediately started to take his shirt off, not without getting stuck of course.

Taeyong laughed softly as he helped Chenle untangle himself from his shirt. He quickly snapped a picture of his own shoulder to make sure that he didn't get it wrong on Chenle.

Chenle pouted when he heard Taeyong laugh, but that quickly disappeared once he was freed. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and sat up nice and tall. He watched Taeyong curiously, excited to be getting a tattoo of his own.

Taeyong had Chenle lay down with the shoulder he wanted drawn on along the edge of the bed. He crouched down next to the bed to give himself the best angle and carefully, following his picture, freehanded the symbol. It wasn't quite as refined as the real one, but Taeyong was pretty damn proud of himself.

Chenle laid perfectly still for Taeyong, but sat bolt upright the moment he was done. He craned his neck to see the drawing and smiled widely when he saw it. "Thanks, baba" he said, flinging himself into Taeyong's arms and hugging his father tightly. A few moments later he heard the door open and he gasped quietly. "Gonna show Kun baba," he said as he hopped off the bed and took off for the front door.

"Wait, Lele!" Taeyong called but it was no use. The boy was long gone. Taeyong pouted. He had just wanted to take a cute picture.

Kun heard the all too familiar steps coming down the hallway, but was a little confused when Chenle came barreling towards him with no shirt on. As the toddler got closer, he got a glimpse of what looked like Taeyong's tattoo copied onto his shoulder. "Hi, baby, how was your day?" he asked as he scooped the toddler into his arms, carefully not to smudge the artwork.

Taeyong put the marker away and padded out to the living room. "Hi, Kun-ah," he said, "how was your day?"

Kun smiled widely when Taeyong came into the room. "It was good. Looks like you two had a lot of fun," he said. "Taeyong baba gave me tattoo," Chenle said proudly, "we match." "I see that, baby," Kun said chuckling, "it looks good." He looked at the drawing fondly and was quite impressed with how well Taeyong had drawn the small hand.

"Lele, come here so Kun baba can take a picture of us," Taeyong said, holding his arms out to take Chenle back.

Chenle reached out his arms towards Taeyong and immediately wrapped his arms around his father's neck. Kun pulled out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures of his boys before turning the device around to get the seal of approval. Chenle giggled happily as he looked over the pictures and dropped his head onto Taeyong's shoulder.

"Send me those pictures so I can pick one for Instagram," Taeyong said as he settled Chenle better, "I'm gonna take this one to find a shirt."

"Sure thing," Kun said, smiling fondly. He finally slipped off his shoes and sent the pictures to Taeyong as he headed into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the weird posting this week, folks! We'll be back to Monday/Thursday this upcoming week.


	11. Chapter 11

The next few weeks were a whirlwind for Taeyong. He lugged Chenle along to all of his promotional events, making it clear to everyone that he did not want his son’s face publicized. By the time the promotions were over, Taeyong was more than ready for a vacation.

Kun was absolutely exhausted when he got home from work. On top of his already busy workload, he had been assigned to train a new employee, which was proving to be difficult considered they were not very interested in learning. "Hey, I'm home," he called tiredly when he entered the apartment. He was at least glad that promotions were finally over for Taeyong. That meant that they could finally take a much needed family vacation. 

“Kitchen,” Taeyong called out when he heard Kun’s greeting. He and Chenle were doing their best to make brownies from scratch, which had long since turned into a chocolatey disaster.

"What's going on in here?" Kun asked as he entered the room. He chuckled as it appeared more of what his fiancé and son were trying to make had ended up on the kitchen counter than in the mixing bowl in front of them. "Brownies!" Chenle said happily, sticking his chocolate covered fingers in Kun's direction.

Taeyong snagged the bowl from the counter and scraped what was left into a greased pan. He slid the pan into the oven and set a timer. “Alrighty, let’s go get cleaned up, Lele,” he said, “then I’ll show you what to do with the extra, okay?”

Chenle nodded and climbed down from the chair, leaving greasy fingerprints in his wake. Kun smiled fondly and slid into a chair as he waited for them to come back. He sat back and forced his eyes to stay open.

Taeyong decided that the easiest way to clean them both up without collateral damage was to simply take Chenle in the shower with him. He cleaned the boy up first and released him with a towel to find Kun. Once Taeyong himself was clean, he dried off and went to find his family.

Kun smiled when he saw Chenle wander in the kitchen wrapped in a huge towel. “Careful you don’t trip,” he said, standing up, “come on let’s go get you changed.” After he had helped the toddler get changed, he found himself back in the kitchen with Chenle happily perched on his lap, waiting for Taeyong to come back.

Taeyong got dressed quickly and made his way back to the kitchen. “Alrighty, Lele, wanna have some chocolate?” he asked with a smile.

Chenle was off Kun's lap before Kun even registered what Taeyong had said. He practically ran across the kitchen to Taeyong and waited patiently for the chocolate he was promised. 

Taeyong took a spoon out of the drawer and scraped some of the brownie batter out of the bowl. “Be careful,” he warned Chenle as he passed the spoon over.

Chenle took the spoon and held it like his life depended on it. He carefully licked the spoon and Kun chuckled when the toddler’s eyes lit up. When Chenle had licked the spoon clean, without getting any on his clothes, he held it up to Taeyong. “More?” he asked hopefully. “You don’t want to ruin dinner, Lele,” Kun warned. Chenle just pouted and held the spoon higher towards Taeyong.

Taeyong took the spoon and rinsed it in the sink before scraping down what was left. “Kun baba will have some then I’ll have some, okay?”

“Okay,” Chenle agreed. He walked back over to Kun who happily picked the toddler up and placed him back on his lap. Kun smiled happily and wiped a small trace of chocolate from the corner of Chenle’s mouth.

Taeyong scraped up a spoonful and passed it over to Kun. He grabbed a spoon for himself and scraped up the rest of it, popping it in his mouth right away.

Kun hummed happily as he tasted the brownie batter. He wasn’t much of a baker so he always appreciated a sweet treat whenever Taeyong decided to make something. Chenle was watching him closely and eventually he gave into the boy and surrendered his spoon. The toddler smiled gleefully and eagerly licked the spoon clean.

“All gone,” Taeyong said, standing up and putting the bowl in the sink. “Brownies are in the oven. Okay. Kun! How was your day?”

Chenle clutched onto his spoon despite there being no brownie batter left. “Long. I got assigned a new employee to train and I am not hopeful,” Kun replied tiredly.

Taeyong reaches over to rub his fiancé’s shoulder with a hum. “Hopefully, it’ll go smoothly,” he said, “you’re a good teacher.”

Kun smiled and relaxed into Taeyong’s touch. “Thanks, babe. Although they certainly don’t share that same sentiment,” he said softly, “but enough boring stuff. What did you two get up to other than making a mess of the kitchen?” Chenle giggled from his spot on Kun’s lap and just looked up at Taeyong.

“We went to the park,” Taeyong said, “got lunch with Tennie, Lele took a nap, then we made brownies.” All in all, a good day.

“Oh good,” Kun said softly, “did you have fun, baby?” Chenle nodded immediately. Kun smiled and placed a gentle kiss to the top of Chenle’s head before setting the toddler back on the floor. “I’m gonna take a quick shower and then I get started on dinner,” he said as he stood up.

“I’ll cook,” Taeyong said, stopping Kun to give him a kiss, “you just relax.” He could tell that Kun had had a rough day.

"Thanks, babe," Kun said gratefully. Usually he would insist on cooking, but he was too tired to argue today. While grabbing some clean clothes he walked over to Taeyong's desk and smiled at all of Chenle's drawings. He admired the pictures for a moment before heading into the bathroom.  The hot water of the shower felt amazing on Kun's tense shoulders, but he didn't want to spend too much time away from his family so he finished up quickly. When he walked back into the kitchen, Chenle was helping Taeyong. Kun wandered over to his fiancé and wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his head on his shoulder.

“I’m trying to teach Lele how to make hot pot,” Taeyong said. He knew Kun would do a better job, given his and Chenle’s shared language and culture, but he was trying his best.

Kun smiled and didn’t move from where he stood wrapped around Taeyong. “You’re doing a better job than you give yourself credit for you know,” he said. He stayed pressed against Taeyong’s back occasionally whispering tips or translating instructions Chenle didn’t quite understand.

Taeyong followed Kun’s instructions, making the necessary adjustments, until he had to move things to the table. “Kun-ah, you need to let go now,” he said gently.

Kun regretfully unwrapped his arms from Taeyong's waist and helped his fiancé carry everything to the table. Chenle had gotten much better about sitting in his booster seat over the past few weeks and even tried to climb onto the seat by himself.

Taeyong set the dishes on the table and sat in his chair. “Are you excited, Lele?”

Kun helped Chenle into his booster seat before sitting down himself. The toddler nodded eagerly and nearly tipped the bowl over trying to pull it closer. “Careful,” Kun said as he quickly reached out to prevent the hot food from spilling onto Chenle’s lap, “I’ll help you.” He slid the plate the rest of the way in front of the toddler and helped him hold his utensils.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Kun with Chenle. The younger man was so gentle with their son and it was so cute.

Kun hummed happily when he finally took a bite of his own food. A few moments later, he realized that Taeyong was watching him. He smiled softly, but turned back towards Chenle to keep a careful eye on the toddler as he ate. Once they were done eating, he stood from the table and gathered the dirty dishes. “Thank you for cooking. I can clean everything up, you two go relax and I’ll come find you in a few minutes,” he said, carefully carrying the dishes to the sink.

Taeyong smiled and picked Chenle up out of his chair. He carried the toddler to the bathroom to wash his face, then took him back to the living room. He laid on the couch and sat the boy on his stomach.

Kun hummed softly to himself as he cleaned the kitchen. As dull of a task as it was, it allowed his mind to wander and he smiled as he thought of all the things they could do when they visited Fujian. When he had finally finished, he easily found his family waiting for him in the living room. He all but collapsed into the chair and sighed softly as he watched his fiancé and son.

Taeyong turned his head when Kun walked into the room and slumped into the chair. "Why don't you go lay down?" he said sympathetically. He knew what that bone deep exhaustion felt like.

“If I go lay down, I’ll fall asleep and I want to at least spend some downtime with you two,” he replied quietly. He would have loved to go to bed, but it was days like today when he just needed all the time with his family he could get.

"Lele, why don't you go cuddle with Kun baba for a little bit?" Taeyong suggested, lifting the boy off of him, "he isn't feeling good."

Chenle hurried over to Kun. “Baba, sick?” he asked worriedly. “No, baby, I’m just tired,” Kun said as he lifted the toddler into his arms. “Lele make you feel better,” Chenle said as he snuggled closer. Kun smiled and wrapped a careful arm around his son. “Thanks, Lele,” he whispered.

"Lele's cuddles are magic, you know," Taeyong said with a smile, "he can make you feel better no matter what." It was practically true. Chenle always managed to make Taeyong feel better when he was down.

Chenle nodded eagerly against Kun’s chest. Kun smiled and held the toddler tighter against him. “How lucky am I to have a son who’s cuddles are magic,” he said as he nuzzled into Chenle’s hair. The toddler giggled and snuggled closer. As tired as he was, Kun quickly lost track of time and didn’t realize how late it was getting. Whenever either of his boys were in his arms all of his worries seemed to completely melt away.

Taeyong smiled softly as he watched his boys together. If he could stay in this moment forever, he absolutely would. "I think it's bedtime," he said as he noticed how sleepy Chenle had become.

Kun slowly stood up, careful not to jostle the half asleep toddler. He carefully tucked Chenle in and after all the goodnight kisses, he took Taeyong’s hand and all but dragged him into their bedroom. After regretfully setting an alarm for the morning, he rolled into bed and waited for his fiancé.

"Baby, you look really rough," Taeyong said worriedly as he laid down next to Kun, taking note of his fiancé's deep, dark eyebags, "are you sure you should be going to work tomorrow?"

Kun sighed when he saw Taeyong’s worried expression. “I’m fine, Tae. One long day isn’t the end of the world,” he said. He gathered his fiancé in his arms like he did every night and happily snuggled closer.

"You're really pale and your eyebags are halfway down your cheeks, Kunnie," Taeyong said gently, "you need a break, even if it's just one day."

“It’s almost the weekend anyway. Besides we’re going to be planning out trip soon, right? I’ll be able to get plenty of rest then,” Kun replied tiredly. He felt his eyes growing heavy, but he forced them to stay open. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a day off to spend with his boys; it was that he couldn’t afford to take a day off, especially now that he was responsible for training someone. “I’ll be okay. I promise,” he whispered.

“I just don’t want you to get sick,” Taeyong said quietly. He knew Kun didn’t like being away from work, especially when he was supposed to help others, but his fiancé could only push himself so hard before he tumbled.

“I’m not gonna get sick, babe,” Kun assured quickly, “you’re gonna drive yourself crazy if you keep worrying this much. Let’s just get through the rest of this week and then we can start planning our trip.” He was incredibly grateful that he had Taeyong to look out for him, but he simply couldn’t take the break he knew he needed right now.

“Pardon me for being concerned,” Taeyong said coldly. He rolled himself over, out of Kun’s arms and facing away from the younger man. His fiancé was so stubborn, which Taeyong usually didn’t mind, but his health was an issue that Taeyong would never get over Kun ignoring.

“Tae...,” Kun sighed sadly. He was much too tired to argue tonight. He stared at Taeyong’s back with sad eyes, but didn’t dare pull him closer again. “I’m sorry,” he whispered before letting his eyes fall closed. It killed him to see Taeyong so upset with him, but there was nothing he could do right now.

Taeyong made a point of taking out his hearing aids and turning them off before turning off the lamp. He wasn’t in the mood for any more of Kun’s excuses. If the younger was going to sacrifice his health and not listen to those who cared about him, then so be it.

Kun wasn’t sure when he finally fell asleep, but he knew it was much later. All too soon, his alarm was going off and he had to force himself out of bed. He look over at Taeyong and felt a pang of guilt when he saw his fiancé asleep all the way at the edge of the bed. Forcing his head down, he made his way to the bathroom to get changed and go to work.

Taeyong hadn’t meant to sleep in as late as he did. He had laid awake for a while, feeling guilty for getting mad at Kun. The younger worked his ass off to support them and Taeyong gave him nothing good in return. With a sigh, he put in his aids and went to find Chenle.

Chenle smiled widely when Taeyong came into his room, but that smile faded when he saw how sad his father looked. “Baba, why sad?” he asked as he slowly walked over.

“Kun baba and I had a fight and I feel really bad about it,” Taeyong said as he grabbed some clean clothes for Chenle and helped the toddler get changed.

Chenle frowned and didn’t resist getting dressed despite his earlier intentions. “Still mad?” he asked fearfully. His parents didn’t get in fights that often and it always scared him what would happen if they stayed mad at each other.

“I don’t think so,” Taeyong reassured him, “I’m not mad at Kun baba.” He had no idea whether or not Kun was mad at him, but that should be good enough for Chenle.

Chenle nodded. “Kun baba not mad. Kun baba loves you,” he said matter-of-factly.

Taeyong felt his face redden. “Even if he loves me, he can still be mad at me,” he explained, “it isn’t healthy to pretend you’re not mad when you are. It’s important to talk things like that out.”

Chenle frowned at that; he didn’t want to think about Kun still being mad at Taeyong. “Don’t want Kun baba mad,” he admitted quietly.

“If he is, then he and I will talk until he’s not,” Taeyong promised Chenle. He had always believed in open communication.

Chenle smiled again, satisfied with Taeyong answer. “Make surprise for Kun baba?” he asked.

“What do you have in mind?” Taeyong asked. He picked Chenle up, carrying the boy out to the living room.

“Picture?” he asked, unsure. He wasn’t really sure what was a good surprise to make sure Kun wasn’t mad and he didn’t want to get it wrong.

“You can draw Kun a picture,” Taeyong said, nodding, “Do you want to do that now?” He could answer emails while Chenle drew then they could run some errands.

Chenle nodded. “Draw at desk?” he asked hopefully. Taeyong’s desk chair was very comfy and it was Chenle’s favorite place to draw pictures.

“Sure thing,” Taeyong said agreeably. He took Chenle into the bedroom and set him up at the desk. Once the toddler was settled, Taeyong grabbed his laptop to respond to his emails.

Chenle beamed happily and immediately got to work on his drawing. Despite it only being mid-morning, Kun already wanted to go home. He simply couldn’t take it anymore and to make matters worse his boss asked him to stay late to catch up on everything he was behind on. Kun felt guilty texting Taeyong that he was going to be late of all days, but his boss refused his request to stay late the following day.

Taeyong frowned when he got Kun’s text that he would be late. He wondered if there was any way his fiancé could take his work home with him so he could at least spend some time with them. “We’ll bring you dinner,” he texted back.

Kun smiled and sent back a simply “thank you” before pocketing his phone again. With that he turned back to his work and forced himself not to look at the clock. That effort proved to be futile and every time he thought hours had passed it was merely minutes.

Once Chenle finished his drawing, Taeyong left it on the desk to take later. He and the toddler walked the few blocks to a florist. He wanted to do something extra nice for Kun and flowers seemed like a good way to go. It was a little chilly, but nothing that a few sweaters couldn’t take care of.

Chenle kept close to Taeyong, peering curiously at all the people they passed. He followed Taeyong around the shop wide-eyed as he looked at all the bouquets of flowers that lined the walls. "Baba, which one?" he asked after a few minutes.

“I think we’re gonna make one,” Taeyong said, “with all of Kun baba’s favorite flowers. How does that sound?”

"Like that," Chenle said with a nod. He watched Taeyong and tried to remember which flowers he was picking, but he didn't understand the names of all of them. Instead, he focused on the different colors they all were.

Taeyong pulled out a bunch of different stems until he was sure he had a bouquet Kun would enjoy. He brought it up to the counter for the employee to wrap up then paid for it before handing it to Chenle and picking the boy up. “Be careful, okay?”

Chenle took the flowers carefully and held them like they could fall apart at any moment. "Kun baba be happy," he said excitedly as they left the shop.

“We’re gonna bring him dinner at work later, okay?” Taeyong said. He nervously noticed the sky darkening above them and he hadn’t taken more than a few steps when it suddenly started to downpour. They were only a few blocks from home, he thought, they could definitely make it. He started to speed walk up the street, unable to run with Chenle in tow, but was stopped by a sudden screech and crash on the street in front of him.

"Baba, flowers," Chenle said worriedly when it started to rain. He quickly forgot about the flowers getting ruined when he heard a loud crash. Chenle jumped and held onto Taeyong tighter, whimpering quietly.

By the time Taeyong and Chenle had managed to get around the accident and get home, their ten minute trip had turned into half an hour. Taeyong had left the ruined flowers on the table and immediately taken Chenle for a bath, not even bothering to change himself. The boy was so cold he was shivering, so Taeyong took extra time to make sure he was dry and warm before settling him with another drawing and taking a shower himself.

Between being soaked from the rain and scared because of the accident, Chenle was shaking like a leaf by the time they got home. He warmed up quickly in the bath and happily started another drawing while he waited for Taeyong.

Taeyong was towel drying his hair, but he could already feel a headache coming on. Chenle looked exhausted too, so he convinced the boy to put his drawing aside and come take a nap with him.

Chenle wasted no time pressing himself against Taeyong once he got into bed. "Baba, people okay?" he asked in a small voice. He had never seen an accident before and it had scared him.

“I hope so,” Taeyong said. The accident hadn’t looked too bad, but both cars involved were big and had blocked the road up. “Try and get some sleep so we can go see Kun baba, okay?”

Chenle nodded and someone managed to press himself even closer. He grabbed onto Taeyong's shirt securely and fell asleep for a much needed nap.

When Taeyong woke up again, it was pitch black out. He squinted to see his watch, but the numbers were floating. 10pm? Was that right? And if it was, where was Kun? Taeyong’s head was pounding and he felt like he couldn’t move.

Chenle whined when he woke up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with his fists. Looking around he realized he was still in bed with Taeyong, but Kun was nowhere to be found even though it was dark out. “Baba,” he began as he tapped Taeyong’s side, “where’s Kun baba?”

Taeyong swallowed, wincing at the pain in his throat. “Still at work?” he said, his voice hoarse. He should have probably called Kun, but he wasn’t sure if he could keep up the conversation.

Chenle frowned and was only sitting there for another moment before he began shivering. “Cold,” he whined as he laid back down to press against Taeyong’s warm body.

Taeyong pulled Chenle closer to him and pulled the blanket tight around both of them. He wasn’t sure how they’d both managed to get sick, given how much they had done to warm up and dry off, but hopefully Kun would be home soon.

Kun was a little worried when Taeyong and Chenle never came, but he didn’t blame them for not coming out considering the weather was so bad. He didn’t even have time to stop and eat as it was, let alone think it was odd Taeyong never texted him again. Nevertheless he was finally on his way home and that was all he cared about. The apartment was pitch dark when he walked in and he was careful to be quiet so as not to wake up the boys, who he presumed had fallen asleep.

Taeyong thought he heard the door open, but he couldn’t be sure. He had heard quite a few things. Fevers always terrified him, given his history with them.

Kun tiptoed into the kitchen. More than anything he was absolutely starving considering he had barely had anything to eat all day. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a bouquet of flowers that looked like they had been ruined by the rain sitting on the table. Kun smiled softly, appreciative of the small surprise Taeyong had obviously planned and he hoped his boys weren’t caught in the rain too long trying to get them. He knew the flowers wouldn’t be salvageable, but he put them in a vase regardless and wiped down the table.

Taeyong could hear someone moving around in the apartment. He hoped it was Kun and not some random intruder.

Kun ate and showered quickly, not even taking the time to enjoy either. All he wanted to do was go lay in bed. He only had to get through one more day and then the weekend would be all his to do nothing but spend time with his boys. He wasn’t surprised to see Chenle snuggled up next to Taeyong and he had absolutely no intentions of moving the toddler to his own bed.

Taeyong cracked his eyes open when he heard the door open. “Kunnie?” he asked, voice still hoarse.

Kun frowned when he heard how hoarse Taeyong’s voice was. They had been together long enough that he knew it wasn’t because his fiancé had just woken up. “Go back to sleep, babe, I’m right here,” he said quietly as he made his way over to the bed. He hoped Taeyong wasn’t getting sick from being caught in the rain.

“Lele has a fever,” Taeyong mumbled, “there’s medicine in the bathroom.” He hoped Kun would go get it because he didn’t think either of them was moving any time soon.

Kun frowned and went back into the bathroom to grab the medicine from its place in the cabinet. “Come here, Lele,” Kun said as he sat down in bed and gently lifted the toddler into his arms. “C-cold,” he whined, snuggling as close to Kun as he could manage. Kun tested a hand against Chenle’s forehead and winced at how hot he was. He pulled the extra blanket around the toddler and gave him the medicine, who was too tired to resist. “What do you need?” he asked turning his attention to Taeyong.

“Water?” Taeyong said, wincing again as he tried to sit up. He wasn’t very successful. His arms shook and he fell back into the bed. He didn’t know how one storm had made him so sick.

“Just lay down,” Kun said concernedly, “I’ll take care of everything else.” He carefully shifted Chenle off his lap and guided him to lay next to Taeyong. While he was filling up a glass of water in the kitchen, he sent an email to his boss saying that he wouldn’t be in the following day. His exhaustion was quickly forgotten and all he was worried about was taking care of his family.

Taeyong slumped into the pillows, rubbing Chenle’s back to calm him down. “It’s okay, baby,” he mumbled, “you’ll be okay.”

Chenle simply whined in response. Kun returned with a glass of water and set it on the bedside table. He carefully climbed into bed and pulled Chenle back onto his lap and rubbed his back. “Come here, babe,” he said quietly as he helped guide Taeyong to sit, up setting up some pillows to prop him up. He reached back over to grab the glass of water for his fiancé.

Taeyong took the glass with shaky hands, but managed to sip at it without dropping it. With a soft groan, he leaned against his fiancé. Everything was too hot and too cold at once and it was just unnerving.

Kun kept a careful eye on Taeyong and made sure the glass didn’t slip from his hands. When he was done, Kun set the glass back on the nightstand. He carefully wrapped his arms around his fiancé’s shoulder and pulled him closer. He pressed his hand to Taeyong’s forehead and wasn’t surprised that his skin was burning hot.

Taeyong sighed as Kun’s cold hand touched his forehead, but pouted when it was taken away. It had felt good for the moment. “I feel like death,” he mumbled.

“Oh, babe,” Kun murmured, “I’m gonna stay home tomorrow and I’ll make some soup for both of you. For now try and get some sleep.” The pieces were starting to fit together and Kun felt guilty that his boys had gotten sick trying to surprise him.

“No, no,” Taeyong protested, “you can go to work. Lele and I will be okay.” He didn’t want to keep Kun from his work and make him more upset.

“I already told my boss I’m not coming in and there’s no way I’m leaving you two home sick,” Kun said. He was glad that Chenle had fallen back asleep, but the boy was still shivering every now and then. Kun pulled the blanket tighter around all of them.

"Don't wanna get you sick too," Taeyong mumbled, already nearly asleep again.

“I won’t get sick,” Kun assured gently. He guided Taeyong to lay back down and carefully followed suit. Kun let Chenle lay on his chest so that he could tuck his fiancé into his side.

“You could,” Taeyong said weakly. He laid close to Kun despite his own arguments, needing the comfort of his fiancé.

Kun sighed softly. “Get some sleep, babe,” he murmured soothingly. He knew brushing Taeyong’s concern off was what got him sick in the first place, but he needed his fiancé to sleep now and worry later.

Taeyong didn’t have the energy to protest. Within moments, he was fast asleep, his body doing its best to fight the fever.

Kun kept himself awake long enough to be sure Taeyong had fallen asleep. Not soon after he closed his own eyes and before he knew it sunlight was streaming through the window. Chenle and Taeyong were still asleep and Kun didn’t want to disturb either of them so he stayed where he was and gently rubbed Chenle’s back.

When Taeyong woke up, he somehow felt even worse than when he had fallen asleep. He couldn’t even open his eyes more than a crack. “Kun?” He whispered.

“I’m right here,” Kun replied quickly. Taeyong didn’t sound good and he was growing more and more nervous. Chenle still hadn’t woken up yet and his labored breathing wasn’t a good sign.

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” Taeyong said, struggling to try and sit up. The fever was making him incredibly anxious and he didn’t want to be in bed any longer.

Kun quickly moved Chenle from his chest and felt a pang of guilt when the toddler whined. “Easy, easy,” Kun said as he helped guided Taeyong to sit up, “I got you.” He practically lifted the elder out of bed and helped guide him to the bathroom.

Taeyong whimpered as he was led blindly down the hallway to the bathroom. He was scared of how suddenly he had gotten sick. The moment Kun lowered him to the floor, he threw up violently into the toilet.

There was nothing Kun could do other than rub Taeyong’s back. He sighed sadly; this was all his fault. He grabbed a washcloth and wet it in the sink. After ringing it out and flushing the toilet, he lowered himself to the floor next to Taeyong and gently wiped down his face. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

Taeyong couldn’t help it when he started crying. He was sick and tired and scared. He just wanted to feel better and it didn’t help that his aids didn’t seem to be working.

Kun wrapped his arms around Taeyong and pulled the elder into his lap. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said as he swayed slightly, “you just need some rest and you’ll be better soon.” He knew Taeyong would have to take some medication at some point, but he didn’t want to move him to get it just yet.

“Go take care of Lele,” Taeyong choked out before he leaned over to throw up again. He needed to know that his son was safe before anything.

Kun frowned, and carefully shifted Taeyong off of his lap. He waited another minute before leaving the bathroom, but not without one last look over his shoulder. When he walked into the bedroom, Chenle was sitting up in the middle of the bed, tear tracks staining his cheeks. “Baba, don’t feel good,” he said quietly. “Oh baby, I know. Come here,” Kun said as he lifted the toddler into his arms. Chenle whimpered weakly and leaned completely against his father.

Taeyong flushed the toilet again and blindly grabbed for a towel to wipe his face. He felt awful, and he was scared, but he didn’t want to take Kun away from Chenle.

Kun didn’t like the idea of leaving Taeyong alone so he carried Chenle into the living room. “I’ll be right back, baby,” he said as he carefully laid the toddler down. He was just about to let go when the toddler burst into tears. “D-don’t leave,” he cried in between wails. With a sigh Kun carried the toddler with him to the bathroom. “Tae, do you think you’re okay to go lay on the couch?” he asked as he walked towards his fiancé.

Taeyong nodded shakily. Even if he did throw up again, there would barely be anything left. He took Kun’s outstretched hand and shakily got to his feet, leaning on the younger for support as they made their way out to the living room. Taeyong didn’t get sick easily, but when he did, it was always bad.

Kun carefully wrapped an arm around Taeyong’s waist and walked him to the couch. Once he had helped the elder sit down he disappeared into the kitchen to fill a glass of water. He knew neither of the boys would feel up to eating anything, but they couldn’t afford to be dehydrated. After helping Chenle drink a little, Kun filled a new glass for Taeyong. “Do you want to try to drink some water?” he asked as he sat down next to his fiancé.

Taeyong nodded and carefully took the glass from Kun. He couldn’t take more than a few sips but it helped nonetheless.

Kun kept a hand on the glass, just in case Taeyong’s grasp faltered. When he was done, Kun placed the glass on the end table and pulled the elder against him. Chenle was halfway asleep and content to stay against his shoulder. “Come here,” he said gently as he guided Taeyong to lean on him again, “I’m so sorry.

Taeyong leaned against Kun, already exhausted. He just wanted to feel better. “You should call someone so it isn’t all on you,” he mumbled.

“I’m okay, but do you want Johnny to come over?” he asked. There was no way he was going to call Ten, especially considering this was all his fault, but he didn’t mind calling Johnny if it would make Taeyong feel better.

Taeyong shook his head. He wanted Kun to have help, but he just wanted his fiancé. Chenle whined from his spot on Kun’s shoulder.

“Aw, baby, I’m right here,” Kun murmured. “Baba, cold,” Chenle whined. Kun wordlessly reached back and grabbed the blanket that was resting on the back of the couch. He draped it over Taeyong’s lap and bundled Chenle up in the rest.

“I can take him so he doesn’t get you sick,” Taeyong mumbled, trying to sit up a bit. He didn’t want Kun to have to miss any more work.

“You need to worry about relaxing so you can feel better sooner,” Kun said gently, “why don’t you try and get some more rest and in the meantime I’ll make some soup. You both need to try and eat at some point.” He was much too guilty that both Taeyong and Chenle felt so miserable to worry about getting sick.

“I can’t make it back to bed,” Taeyong mumbled, “we’ll stay here.” He lifted Chenle away from Kun and settled the boy on his own shoulder, patting his back weakly.

Kun stood up and went into the bedroom to grab one of the pillows. “Come on and lay down,” he said. He put the pillow down and helped guide Taeyong to lay down, making sure both of his boys were comfortable before standing up straight again.

Taeyong didn’t even register laying down or adjusting his grip on Chenle. He was simply suddenly sideways, holding his baby tightly.

Kun sat on the floor next to the couch and ran his fingers through Taeyong’s hair. His eyes flicked between his fiancé’s and son’s pale faces and sighed sadly. “Do you want anything else before I go cook?” he asked softly.

Taeyong shook his head weakly. All he needed was sleep and his family. Hopefully, he would feel better when he woke up.

Kun stayed on the floor, gently running his fingers through Taeyong’s soft hair until he was sure his fiancé had fallen asleep. When he heard Taeyong and Chenle’s breathing even out, he carefully stood up and went into the kitchen to start cooking. He didn’t get very far when he simply couldn’t take the guilt anymore. He braced himself against the counter and hung his head; this was all his fault and he had done absolutely nothing to make his boys feel better. With a dejected sigh he pushed himself up and focused on cooking.


	12. Chapter 12

When Taeyong woke up, it was starting to get dark. Chenle was still laying on his chest, but he was awake and whimpering. “Hurts, baby?” Taeyong asked hoarsely.

Chenle nodded and immediately winced. “Head hurts,” he whined, nearly on the verge of tears. The soup was simmering on low and Kun sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. He immediately shot out of his chair when he heard Chenle whining. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked worriedly as he quickly walked back over to the couch.

“He needs more medicine,” Taeyong mumbled, trying to speak as quietly as he could, “he’s got a headache, and so do I.” He kept rubbing Chenle’s back, hoping to soothe the baby a little bit.

“I’ll get you both some medicine but you have to try to eat something too,” Kun said. With that his quickly bustled around the apartment grabbing medication, two bowls of hot soup, and fresh glasses of water for his boys. “Baba, really hurts,” Chenle sobbed into Taeyong’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, Lele, it’ll be better soon,” Taeyong said softly as he tried his best to soothe his son. If Chenle’s headache didn’t start to decrease within an hour after the food and medicine, he was going to have Kun take the boy to the hospital. He didn’t deserve to suffer for Taeyong’s mistakes.

Kun’s heart sank when he heard Chenle crying. “Here, baby, this will make you feel better,” he said gently as he carefully lifted Chenle into his own arms. The toddler whined loudly and continued to cry. Kun sighed when he realized how dehydrated the boy must be considering there were no tears rolling down his cheeks. He quickly gave Chenle some medicine and helped the boy drink some water. “Do you want help sitting up?” he asked Taeyong once Chenle was settled against his chest.

Taeyong shook his head and managed to push himself up on his own. “I’ll take him back if you can help us eat,” he said, knowing he would only spill hot soup all over himself if he tried to hold the spoon.

Kun nodded and gently handed Chenle back. The boy whimpered and Kun felt bad for moving him around so much when he was so sick. He carefully sat himself down next to his fiancé and tried to coax Chenle to eat. The toddler only took a few bites before he turned his head away from Kun and hid in Taeyong’s shoulder. “Here, babe,” Kun said gently as he grabbed the other bowl and carefully raised the spoon to Taeyong’s lips.

Taeyong only managed a few spoonfuls of soup before he started feeling sick again. He knew he couldn’t take medicine on an empty stomach, but he didn’t want to throw up again either.

Kun put the spoon down when he noticed Taeyong’s expression change. He sighed sadly and instead reached for the glass of water. “Please try and drink a little bit,” he said gently. He could hear the worry laced throughout his voice, but he couldn’t help it considering how pale Taeyong was.

“I’m gonna throw up again if I have any more,” Taeyong mumbled, letting his eyes fall closed again. As it was, he was much more worried about Chenle. “Can you check his temperature?”

Kun sighed and placed the glass to the side. The back of his hand against Chenle’s forehead showed that the baby was still hot, but he hoped within the next hour his fever would break. “He’s still hot, but I want to give the medicine a chance to work before I get the thermometer,” Kun replied quietly.

“I’m worried about him getting too hot,” Taeyong said quietly. He would never wish on Chenle the childhood he had had. It was probably his single greatest fear as a parent.

“I’ll check right now then,” Kun said as he stood. He understood why Taeyong was so worried and he wanted to put his fiancé at ease so that he could rest. Kun carried Chenle into the bathroom and coaxed the toddler to let him put the thermometer beneath his tongue. He held his breath when it beeped and sighed when it revealed that Chenle only had a low grade fever. “He’s okay for now, but I’ll check again in another hour,” Kun said when they walked back into the living room.

“Thanks, Kunnie,” Taeyong mumbled, opening his arms to take Chenle again. Once the boy was securely in his hold, he pulled the blankets up over them and started rubbing the baby’s back again.

Chenle settled into Taeyong’s arms and closed his eyes again. Between crying and not feeling good, he was absolutely exhausted. Kun stood there for a moment just watching his boys. He felt horrible and hoped that they both felt better soon. Now that everything had seemed to calm down, Kun realized how hungry he was, but he felt bad leaving the boys, even for a few minutes to get food for himself. “Do you need anything else right now?” he asked concernedly.

Taeyong shook his head, motioning for Kun to go and take care of himself. “I want us both to shower in a bit, but I wanna make sure the medicine’s helping Lele first,” he added.

Kun nodded. “You both relax for a few minutes while I eat quick and then I can check Chenle’s temperature again. Would you rather me run you a bath than to try and shower?” he suggested. He didn’t mind helping his boys shower, but it would certainly be safer for them to take a bath considering how weak they both were.

“I want the running water, but we’ll probably sit down in the shower,” Taeyong clarified. He could handle washing Chenle, he would just need help getting there.

“Okay,” Kun agreed, “I’ll be right back to help you. He placed a gentle kiss against Taeyong’s forehead and frowned at how hot his fiancé’s skin still was. With that he took the dishes back to the kitchen and made his own bowl of soup. He all but collapsed into a chair and ate tiredly. Kun rolled his shoulders, wincing as he quickly realized how tense he was, the past few days were finally catching up to him.

Taeyong ran his hand through Chenle’s hair, frowning when the boy whimpered. His son was obviously still in a lot of pain and he didn’t know if there was anything he could do.

Kun finished eating and all but threw his dirty dish in the sink; those could wait until morning. He walked back into the living room and felt another pang of guilt when he heard Chenle still whimpering. “Alright, let’s get you two into the bathroom and I’ll check Chenle’s temperature again,” he said as he walked over to the couch.

Taeyong kept his grip tight on Chenle and let Kun guide them both to the bathroom. He sat them both in the tub and then started undressing himself and Chenle. The boy was miserable and clung as close to Taeyong as he could. Once they were both stripped down, Taeyong had Kun turn on the water, leaving it warm, then leave them to their own devices.

Kun didn’t like the idea of leaving Taeyong and Chenle alone, but he didn’t argue. Instead he tried to busy himself organizing the apartment, keeping an ear towards the bathroom at all times. Chenle shivered against Taeyong until the warm water was turned on. He sighed and snuggled closer, eyes squeezed shut.

Taeyong and Chenle just sat under the spray for a while, letting the steam clear their lungs and sinuses and the hot water soothe their muscles. Once Taeyong felt like he could move a little better, he did his best to scrub Chenle completely clean, from his head to his toes.

Chenle whined when Taeyong started washing him, but couldn’t muster the energy to put up much of a fight. When Taeyong was finally done, Chenle heaved a sigh of relief and repositioned himself to lay back down comfortably on his father’s chest.

Taeyong did his best to scrub himself down without disturbing Chenle again, but he was only marginally successful. He managed to at least wash his hair before his arms grew too tired. He didn’t want to waste water, but it was still warm and he didn’t want to get out quite yet, so he simply adjusted his and Chenle’s faces out of the spray and settled in.

Chenle was glad when Taeyong finally stopped moving. His headache was starting to go away, but he was still cold so he was content to lay under the warm water. Kun didn’t want to be overbearing but he was a little worried considering how long Taeyong and Chenle had been in the shower at this point. “Babe, is everything okay?” he asked through the door.

“Yeah, we’re just sitting,” Taeyong called back, clearing his throat. If he shut off the water, it felt like both he and Chenle would freeze to death.

Kun carefully cracked the door open and peaked in. "Are you sure you don't want to just take a bath?" he asked slowly.

“I don’t want us sitting in the dirty water,” Taeyong said, “Lele’s already clean and the water would just get cold anyway.”

"Alright, just don't stay in there too long or you're both gonna turn into prunes," Kun said gently. He grabbed some towels from underneath the vanity before he left the bathroom and went to put them in the dryer so they would be warm by the time Taeyong and Chenle decided to get out of the shower.

Taeyong sighed and did his best to keep himself awake. Chenle falling asleep was a given, but it was on Taeyong to keep them both from drowning. Eventually, he gave in and called Kun.

Kun quickly made his way into the bathroom when he heard Taeyong calling for him. Chenle was practically asleep and Taeyong didn’t look too far behind. “Ready to get out?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Taeyong said, nodding slowly, “take Lele first, get him dry.” He would put his son’s health before his own every single time.

“I’ll be right back,” Kun said as he disappeared from the bathroom. He snagged the towels from the dryer; they weren’t as warm as he hoped they would be but it was better than nothing. When he got back into the bathroom, he shut the water off and quickly took Chenle into his arms. Once the baby was wrapped, he handed Taeyong the other warm towel.

Taeyong wrapped the warm towel around his shoulders, shivering. As much as he hated to admit it, he would definitely need Kun’s help to get dressed and in bed. His head was clearer, thankfully, but he was still dehydrated.

“Let me grab you both some clothes,” Kun said as he disappeared from the room once again. He held Chenle securely against him and the toddler seemed content to stay wrapped up in the warm towel. Kun knew there was no way he could help Taeyong out of the tub with Chenle still in his arms so he quickly dried the toddler the rest of the way and dressed him. Once the toddler was tucked into the middle of their bed, Kun went back to the bathroom.

Taeyong had managed to at least get himself to sit on the closed toilet, still huddled in the towel. His hair was dripping down his back, but he was too stiff to dry it off.

“Oh, babe,” Kun murmured as he set Taeyong’s clothes on the vanity and grabbed a fresh towel. He immediately began drying Taeyong off, making sure his hair was no longer dripping.

Even the warmth of Kun’s body heat was enough to help Taeyong. “How’s Lele?” he asked hoarsely.

“He’s not as hot anymore and he didn’t complain about his head. I think he just needs some rest and water and hopefully he’ll have more of an appetite tomorrow,” Kun replied. He held Taeyong close desperately trying to keep his fiancé warm. “I’m worried about you. You don’t sound good,” he added softly. Taeyong was still incredibly pale and Kun could feel him shaking in his arms.

“I’m okay,” Taeyong said quietly. He was resisting leaning into Kun’s stomach, not wanting to get his fiancé wet. He wasn’t worried about himself. Just about Chenle.

Kun sighed, but promptly dropped it. “Do you want to try getting dressed now?” he asked gently. He hoped that Chenle had fallen asleep, especially because Kun couldn’t hear any noise coming from the bedroom.

Taeyong nodded and carefully got to his feet. His vision wavered for a moment and he stumbled slightly before righting himself. “I’m okay,” he said automatically.

Kun immediately grabbed onto Taeyong and helped steady him. He took a deep breath to keep his composure, but on the inside he was panicking. “Sit back down,” he ordered as he guided Taeyong to sit on the closed toilet again. He snatched his fiancé’s shirt off the counter and helped pull it over his head and then moved to get his arms through the sleeves.

“I’m fine, Kunnie,” Taeyong mumbled. He just needed water, he kept telling himself. He needed water, then he’d be okay.

“No, you’re not,” Kun said gently yet forcefully. He carefully helped Taeyong finish getting dressed, all while making sure he stayed as seated as possible. “Do you want any medicine while we’re in here or do you just want to go lay down?” he asked.

Taeyong nodded, not fully registering the question. He could probably use some medicine. If anything, it would only help him.

“I’m gonna go get you some water and don’t you dare try to stand up while I’m gone,” Kun said. He ran into the kitchen quick, grateful that he had filled up glasses a little earlier, and carried one back to the bathroom.

Taeyong stayed on the toilet seat, halfway to falling asleep. He just wanted to feel better. Was that so much to ask?

Kun grabbed some cold medicine from the cabinet and offered some to Taeyong. He didn’t quite trust him with the glass so he carefully helped his fiancé take small sips of water.

Taeyong took the medicine gratefully, slipping it in with his water. “Thanks, Kunnie,” he said in a small voice.

“Of course, babe,” Kun said, mustering a small smile, “now let’s get you to bed.” He helped Taeyong stand and kept a firm hold on his fiancé incase he wavered again.

Taeyong leaned on his fiancé and slowly shuffled to bed. He rolled onto the bed, curling up next to Chenle. “Night,” he mumbled.

“Good night, Tae,” Kun said quietly. He watched Chenle sleepily snuggle closer to Taeyong. Once Kun was sure both of his boys were asleep, he went to take his own shower. Between taking care of Taeyong and Chenle and feeling guilty that they were both sick in the first place, he felt completely drained.

Taeyong tossed and turned a little bit before finally settling down. He still felt disgusting and he hoped this would all pass quickly.

Kun had no idea how long he was in the shower for, but he eventually dragged himself out. The next thing he knew he was laying down in bed and he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He just hoped both of his boys would be feeling better in the morning; he hated seeing them so sick.

Taeyong woke up in a haze. His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and his eyes were crusted shut. “Kunnie,” he rasped, feeling around for his fiancé, “Kun-ah.”

Kun shot up when he heard his name. “What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly. Thankfully, Chenle was still sound asleep between them and hadn’t been disturbed by Kun’s sudden movement.

“Am I hot?” Taeyong asked blearily. He was shivering violently, practically freezing, but his entire body was covered in sweat.

Kun reached over and gently laid his hand against Taeyong’s forehead. He frowned when he realized Taeyong was still burning hot; it wasn’t good for a fever to last this long. “Yeah, you are,” Kun said sadly, “do you want to try and see a doctor today?” He didn’t think his fiancé would agree so easily, but there was only so much Kun himself good do.

“Is Lele hot?” Taeyong asked, moving his hand to the boy between them. He couldn’t tell Chenle’s heat from his own. It dawned on Taeyong then that he was really sick.

Kun rested his hand against Chenle’s forehead instead. “No, he’s okay,” he replied. He was glad that at least Chenle’s fever had broken, but the fact that Taeyong’s hadn’t was terrifying.

Taeyong grunted and reached out for Kun’s hand, moving the cool appendage to his face. “Need help,” he mumbled, “too cold.”

Kun let Taeyong pull his hand against his forehead again. With his free arm he carefully moved Chenle onto his lap so he could scoot closer to his fiancé. He pulled the blankets higher up to cover Taeyong’s shoulders. “Better?” he asked. He didn’t want to scare Taeyong with how worried he sounded, but he couldn’t help it.

Taeyong shook his head. “Doctor,” he said after a moment, “need a doctor.” He was trying not to let on how scared he was, but it was hard.

Kun nodded, “let’s go.” He felt bad leaving Chenle with Ten, but he knew it would be much too difficult to get Taeyong to the hospital with the toddler with them. After texting his best friend, explaining everything, Ten promised he’d be over with ten minutes. And he was. In that time, Kun had managed to put a still sleeping Chenle in his own bed and get Taeyong out of theirs and into the living room.

Taeyong struggled to stay upright as Kun guided him to the living room. He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around his shoulders.

“There’s some soup in the fridge if he’s hungry when he wakes up and some children’s cold medicine in the bathroom,” Kun explained as soon as Ten walked in the door. “I got it. Go take care of Taeyong,” Ten said grabbing Kun by the shoulders. “Thanks, Tennie. Text me when Chenle wakes up with how he’s feeling,” Kun instructed. Ten all but shoved Kun towards the living room so he could help get Taeyong downstairs and into their car. “You’re gonna be okay, Tae,” he said as he drove off.

Taeyong wasn’t really aware of the drive to the doctor’s. He leaned against the window, using the blanket to keep his head from bouncing against the glass. He groaned over one particularly hard bump. His entire body ached.

Kun tried to drive as carefully as he could, but he was more concerned with getting Taeyong to the doctors quickly. When they finally arrived, Kun helped his fiancé inside and guided him to a chair before going to talk to the nurse at the desk. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do to get Taeyong seen quickly and they were resigned to wait until the doctor was available. “He’ll see you soon,” Kun said as he took a seat next to Taeyong. He reached his arm around his fiancé’s shoulder and gently moved his hand up and down.

Taeyong leaned his head on Kun’s shoulder, tugging the blanket tight around him. He was exhausted just from the journey to the doctor’s office and was nearly about to fall asleep.

Kun sighed sadly. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” he murmured. The minutes ticked by and eventually he had gotten a text from Ten. He nearly broke down on the spot when he read the message that Chenle was hysterical because they were missing. Kun immediately dialed Ten’s number and instructed his best friend to help Chenle with the phone so he could talk to the toddler.

Taeyong wasn’t fully aware, but he could hear crying coming from Kun’s phone. “Lele?” he asked, lifting his head slightly, “why’s Lele crying?”

“He didn’t know we left,” Kun answered. “Lele, I’m right here,” he said into the phone. While he soothed the toddler, he guided Taeyong to lay his head back down. He felt bad speaking Mandarin when Taeyong was sitting right there, but it was the only way to calm Chenle down when he was this upset.

“Gimme,” Taeyong mumbled, motioning for Kun to hand over the phone. He didn’t want his baby to be sad.

Kun reluctantly handed over the phone. It wasn’t that he wanted to deny Taeyong the opportunity to talk to their son, but he was too sick to be worried about Chenle. At least Chenle had stopped outwardly crying, but the toddler was still very obviously upset.

Taeyong took the phone and held it to his ear with both hands. “Lele,” he started, speaking in his shaky Chinese, “it’s Taeyong baba. I’m okay, baby, I promise. Baba loves you, okay?”

“Love you, baba,” Chenle replied, on the verge of tears again, “c-come home?” Kun’s heart clenched when he heard Chenle’s question; he knew he should have never left the toddler home.

Taeyong nodded before remembering that Chenle couldn’t see him. “I will,” he said, “I promise. I’m not leaving, Lele, I’m just getting medicine.”

“Okay, baba. Lele wait,” Chenle said. He believed that Taeyong and Kun would come back; they always did. Finally the nurse came out and called Taeyong’s name. Kun gently took the phone from Taeyong and after they both said goodbye to Chenle, he helped Taeyong stand up and follow the nurse to the examination room.

Taeyong shuffled into the exam room, keeping the blanket tight around him. With Kun’s help, he was able to get up on the table and wait for the nurse to take his vitals.

The nurse went through the routine as per usual and paused after taking Taeyong’s temperature. “How long have you had a fever?” she asked as she looked over the chart.

“Since Thursday afternoon,” Taeyong said hoarsely, “I got caught in the rain and stayed wet too long.”

She nodded and made another note. After performing a couple more small tests she closed the chart. “You’re very dehydrated so we’re going to put you on some fluids and the doctor will be in to see you shortly,” she said. A few minutes after she left, a technician came in to set up Taeyong on a drip IV.

Taeyong carefully dug his arm out from inside his blanket cocoon and extended it for the technician. He winced when the needle entered his arm, but the pain was gone quickly. He hoped this would be over just as fast.

Kun took Taeyong’s hand and rubbed his thumb back and forth. “You’ll feel better soon,” he said as calmly as he could. He hated that all of this was happening and all he wanted was for his fiancé to feel better.

“I just wanna get home to Lele,” Taeyong said quietly. He also wanted to go home and take a nap, but his baby’s happiness came first.

“We’ll see him soon,” Kun said. In the moment the doctor walked in. After reviewing Taeyong’s chart and talking with him, he prescribed stronger medication to reduce the fever and the other flu symptoms. Once they were satisfied with Taeyong’s fluid levels they removed the IV and sent the pair home. Kun felt bad that they had left Chenle for so long, but they were finally going home to their boy.

Taeyong was even more exhausted by the time he got to go home, but he at least felt marginally better. The fluids had at the very least helped his headache and the first dose of medication was starting to kick in.

Kun was relieved when they finally got home and he helped Taeyong upstairs. “Do you want to go lay in bed or on the couch?” he asked as they reached the apartment door.

“In bed,” Taeyong mumbled, “but we need to change the sheets first. I wanna lay with Lele but I don’t want him to get sick again.”

“Alright. You relax on the couch for a few minutes and I’ll change the sheets,” Kun said. He unlocked the door and they didn’t make it more than two steps into the apartment when Chenle was heading towards them. “Hey, baby,” Kun said softly, “why don’t you go ahead and wait on the couch?” The toddler walked away and patiently waiting until Taeyong was sitting before snuggling into his father’s side. “Thank you so much, Tennie,” Kun said when his best friend walked down the hallway.

Taeyong held Chenle in his lap, trying to keep the boy at an arm’s length so he wouldn’t get any sicker. “Did you have a good time with Tennie?” he asked quietly.

Chenle whined and desperately tried to get closer to Taeyong. “Missed you,” he said, ignoring the question. Meanwhile Kun had bid goodbye to Ten after thanking him profusely and went to remake the bed.

“I missed you too, baby,” Taeyong said softly, reaching for Chenle’s hands. He wanted the boy to know that he cared; he just didn’t want to see him sick any longer.

Chenle grabbed onto Taeyong’s hands tightly. He didn’t understand why they couldn’t cuddle, but he was content to at least be with his father. A few minutes later, Kun walked back into the living room. “Let’s get you two into bed,” he said gently. He carefully lifted Chenle off of Taeyong’s lap and helped his fiancé to stand.

When Taeyong was back in bed, he finally allowed Chenle to come close to him. Hopefully the boy had developed some level of immunity to the cold by now and would be okay. Taeyong was selfish; he just wanted his baby nearby.

Chenle easily snuggled into Taeyong’s arms, it was almost second nature at this point. “Do you want anything before you fall asleep?” Kun asked. Ten had told him that Chenle managed to eat a little dry cereal for breakfast so he hoped the boy was on his way to getting better, but he was still worried about Taeyong.

Taeyong shook his head. He just wanted to take a nap. “Maybe plain oatmeal when we get up?” he said quietly.

“Sure thing,” Kun said, “get some rest and I’ll be back in to check on you in a little bit.” He placed a gentle kiss to Taeyong’s forehead, and was relieved that he was finally cooling off. Chenle was already half asleep and looked content to stay just where he was. Taking one last look over his shoulder, Kun quietly slipped from the room.

Taeyong smiled as he drifted off to sleep, cuddling Chenle close. He was feeling better already and he couldn’t be happier. “Night, Kunnie,” he mumbled.

Kun texted Ten an update and another “thank you” before setting his phone down on the counter. He didn’t want to make anything yet so instead he scrubbed down the kitchen and living room. Taeyong and Chenle still hadn’t woken up by the time he finished cleaning so Kun ate a quick lunch while he waited.

For once, Taeyong woke up to the sun still up. He felt a little worse than when he had laid down, but he knew that eating something would help him.

When Kun finished eating, he put his dish back in the sick and went to peak on his boys. He smiled when he saw that Taeyong and Chenle were awake although both of them look much too comfortable to move. “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

Taeyong shrugged. “No better, no worse,” he said, glad his voice was finally coming back, “a little thirsty.”

Kun nodded; relieved that Taeyong at least wasn’t getting any worse. “I’ll be right back with some water and the oatmeal you wanted,” he said. Not more than ten minutes later Kun was walking back into the bedroom, food and water in hand. He slipped into the bed and pulled Chenle onto his lap. “Try and sit up,” he instructed gently.

Taeyong managed to get himself upright, albeit shakily, and took the tray of food onto his lap. He ate slowly, glad that he could finally stomach something. “Thanks, Kunnie,” he mumbled.

“Of course, babe,” Kun replied quietly. He helped Chenle drink some water before carefully feeding the boy. Chenle turned his nose up at the oatmeal after only a few bites and tucked his head into Kun’s neck instead.

“Lele, you need to eat something,” Taeyong said gently, reaching out to comb the boy’s hair with his fingers, “just a few more bites, okay?”

Chenle whined in protest and kept his head buried in Kun’s neck. Kun sighed and put the bowl aside. “Do you want something different?” he asked, gently rubbing the toddler’s back. Chenle shook his head, “Not hungry.”

“Just one bite, Lele,” Taeyong said again, “you need food so you can be healthy again.”

Chenle reluctantly sat up and watched Kun reach for the bowl. He pouted but took one more bite, before immediately settling against Kun’s chest again. Kun sighed sadly and wrapped his arms around the toddler, holding him close.

“Lele, do you feel better?” Taeyong asked carefully. He didn’t want to make the boy more upset, but he was still worried.

“A little,” he mumbled. He held onto to Kun’s shirt tightly and sat there for a moment before speaking up again. “No leave again,” he added quietly. “We’re not going anywhere, baby, don’t worry,” Kun said quickly when he heard how scared Chenle sounded.

“Lele, why don’t you sit with me so Kun baba can clean up the dishes then we’ll all watch a movie, okay?” Taeyong offered. He felt bad bribing the boy with movies so often but what else was he to do?

Chenle let go of Kun’s shirt only long enough to be moved within arm’s reach of Taeyong’s. Kun brought the dishes into the kitchen, leaving them to soak in the sink, and the went back to lay in bed laptop in hand. The toddler looked miserable and Kun hoped he got better soon; he missed both of his boy’s smiles more than anything.

Taeyong cuddled Chenle in his lap, doing his best to make the boy comfortable. He hated seeing his baby sick. Chenle deserves only the best life.

“What do you want to watch?” Kun asked as he grabbed Taeyong’s laptop. Chenle responded with a quiet whine, but turned his head to see the laptop. Kun put on the toddler’s favorite movie and settled down next to Taeyong, wrapping his arms around his fiancé.

Taeyong leaned his head on Kun’s shoulder, sighing. He just wanted them all to feel better.

“A couple more days and you’ll feel as good as new,” Kun said soothingly. He gently rubbed Taeyong’s shoulder, hoping the worst was behind them.


	13. Chapter 13

To his relief, Taeyong started feeling better after that. Within a week, he was fully healthy. Chenle was too, although he still had a bit of a sniffle.

It seemed that the better his boys began to feel, the worse work seemed to get for Kun. He would take Taeyong and Chenle feeling better over anything, but he was sick of coming home exhausted everyday. One day his boss let him go home early and he had never driven home so fast.

Taeyong was surprised when Kun swept into the apartment and pulled him into a deep kiss. “Well, hello to you too,” Taeyong said when they pulled apart, “you’re home early.”

“My boss let me out early because I’ve been working so many hours lately,” Kun said with a smile. He let go of Taeyong and stepped back when he heard tiny footsteps coming down the hallway. “Baba!” Chenle said excitedly. Kun chuckled and scooped the toddler into his arms, “hi, baby. How was your morning?”

Taeyong smiled at seeing his boys together. “That’s wonderful, Kunnie,” he said happily, “we’ll get the entire weekend to spend together!”

“Yeah! Give me ten minutes to take a shower and then I’m all yours,” Kun said. He bounced Chenle in his arms, earning a giggle from the toddler. “Think of something fun to do tonight,” Kun instructed before putting Chenle down. He stole a quick kiss before disappearing into the bathroom.

Taeyong smiled and collected Chenle in his arms. He carried the toddler to the couch and settled him on his lap. “What do you want to do with baba tonight?”

“Walk?” Chenle asked, “No, no! Park?” He looked up at Taeyong hopefully; they hadn’t been outside much since they had both been so sick.

“Hm, let’s check the weather when Baba gets out of the shower, okay?” He would love to take Chenle to the park, but he didn’t want to risk getting stuck in another storm.

Chenle nodded and snuggled into Taeyong’s lap to wait patiently for Kun. He busied himself playing with his father’s fingers. Just as he promised, ten minutes later Kun was walking back into the living room. “So what did you decide on?” he asked.

“Lele wants to go to the park, but I told him we need to check the weather,” Taeyong said, easily allowing the toddler to mess around with his hands.

“Well, let’s see,” Kun said as he pulled out his phone. His face broke out into a grin as he looked over the weather. “It’s not supposed to rain until the middle of next week,” he announced, turning the phone around to show Taeyong.

“Go get your shoes, Lele,” Taeyong announced, “we’re going to the park.”

Chenle beamed and ran off into his room to grab his shoes. “Help?” he asked when he came back into the living room. “Of course, baby, come here,” Kun said as he sat the toddler on the couch and helped get his shoes on.

Taeyong was content to just watch his boys. “Ready to go?” he asked when Chenle’s shoes were all laced up.

Chenle nodded and practically bounded over to the door. He pouted when he wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the handle. Kun chuckled and walked over to the door. “Don’t get too ahead of us,” he warned. He put his own shoes on and extended his hand towards Taeyong.

Taeyong happily took Kun’s hand and held Chenle’s with the other. He let Kun open the door and the three of them stepped out to head to the park.

The walk to the park went rather quickly and despite the toddler’s high energy levels, he stayed close to Taeyong’s side. There were quite a few families at the park when they arrived. Chenle looked around and immediately started heading over to the small sandbox in the far corner where another little boy was already playing.

Taeyong pulled Kun to sit down on a bench, keeping a close eye on Chenle. “So how was work today?”

Kun chuckled wryly. “The only good thing about today was getting to come home early,” he replied.

“Hey, one good thing is better than nothing,” Taeyong said, trying to stay positive, “just one more week and then vacation. Let’s focus on telling Lele, okay?”

Kun smiled and squeezed Taeyong’s hand; he had no idea what he would do without his fiancé’s positive attitude. “Do you think he’ll be excited?” he asked.

“I hope so,” Taeyong said excitedly. He couldn’t imagine a reason why the boy wouldn’t be excited to go on a trip home.

“Are you excited?” Kun asked. They had never had the opportunity to take an actual vacation since they met, instead using their few vacations hours to relax at home, and he hoped Taeyong was as excited about the destination as he was.

“I am,” Taeyong said, nodding, “I’m excited to see where you grew up.” He was ready to fully immerse himself in Kun’s hometown and its culture.

Kun smiled; Taeyong’s excitement was adorable. “I’ve been thinking about all the places I want to take you,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” Taeyong asked, “where else should we go?” He had always wanted to travel with Kun, but they’d never had the time or the money. That wouldn’t be a problem any longer.

“We should probably wait until Chenle is a little bit older, but I would love to go to Thailand. Ten’s told me so many stories and all the pictures he’s shown me are beautiful,” Kun explained. Most of the time he and Ten would hang out, especially in college, was sharing stories from home and reminiscing about their childhoods.

“That would be so much fun,” Taeyong said, nodding, “but anywhere would be fun as long as you were there.” He knew it was cheesy, but it was true. Anywhere was perfect as long as his fiancé was with him.

“Oh, babe,” Kun said with a chuckle. He leaned over and gently kissed Taeyong’s cheek. “Where else do you want to go?” he asked. He knew he should be focusing on their upcoming trip, but it was hard not to dream about the future.

“Europe,” Taeyong said easily, “the United States, Chicago. I wanna see where Mark stayed in Canada. I want to go everywhere.”

Kun smiled fondly. “Then let’s go everywhere,” he said. He snuck a look back at Chenle and was glad to see he had made friends with the other little boy.

Chenle glanced up and ran over when he saw his babas watching him with smiles on their faces. “Baba, made a friend! Two babas too!” he babbled excitedly in Chinese.

Kun quickly translated for Taeyong before turning back to Chenle. “Aw, baby, that’s so great! Are you having fun?” he asked. He hadn’t seen Chenle this happy since he had been sick and was glad his son had made a new friend.

“Baba, come on!” Chenle said, tugging on Kun’s hand. He wanted his dads to come meet his new friend. Maybe they could all be friends!

Kun smiled and let himself be pulled off of the bench. “Alright, alright. I’m coming,” he said with a chuckle. He snuck a look back at Taeyong and followed Chenle over to the sandbox.

With a smile, Taeyong got up and followed his boys over to the sandbox, crouching down next to them. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he was glad Chenle was making friends. It was about time.

“He wants us to meet his friend,” Kun whispered to Taeyong. “Nono! These my babas,” Chenle said proudly when Kun and Taeyong knelt down. “Hi, Nono,” Kun greeted warmly. He could tell the other boy was a little shy, but Chenle was babbling enough for the both of them.

Taeyong waved at Nono with an indulgent smile on his face. The boy seemed somewhat familiar but he couldn’t place why.

Kun noticed two men walking over and stood to greet them. “You must be...,” he quickly stopped talking when he recognized who was standing in front of him. “Sicheng? Oh my God, it’s so good to see you!” he said excitedly.

“And if it isn’t the famous author Lee Taeyong,” Taeil said, teasing smile on his face. Taeyong straightened up and hugged his friend tightly. “It’s been years!” he said, “what have you two been up to?”

Sicheng smiled and gestured to Nono. “Finished up college and we had this little one three years ago. Jeno, did you introduce yourself?” Sicheng asked, looking down at his son. Jeno shook his head, but stayed quiet. “Who’s this? He’s absolutely adorable,” he said as he looked back up at Taeyong and Kun.

“This is Chenle,” Taeyong said, placing a gentle hand on the boy’s head, “he came to us a few months ago from an agency in China. Lele, can you say hi?”

Chenle mumbled a quiet “hi” and clung onto Taeyong’s leg. “It’s nice to meet you, Chenle,” Sicheng greeted in Chinese. Chenle’s eyes widened and he looked up at Kun excitedly. “He knows quite a bit of Korean already, but he’s not quite confident enough to speak it that much,” Kun explained.

“Sicheng is from China too,” Taeyong told Chenle. He picked the boy up so that he was eye level with all the adults, but Chenle shyly his in his neck.

Kun smiled and rubbed Chenle’s back gently. “He’s still a little shy,” he said. “They all are,” Sicheng said as he picked up Jeno, “so, thinking about having any of your own?” Kun froze and looked down at his shoes.

Taeyong took a deep breath and smiled tightly. “We tried,” he said cryptically, leaving it at that. He didn’t want to have that sort of conversation in public in front of two toddlers.

Sicheng nodded, but didn’t say anything more. “I’m glad the boys get along,” he commented instead, “we’ll have to get together more often so they could see each other.”

“Of course,” Taeyong said, smiling wider, “I’m sure Lele would love to have Jeno over to play, and we should definitely catch up too.”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Sicheng agreed, “would you like to see Chenle again, Jeno?” The boy nodded eagerly and watched Chenle curiously. “You still have my number, right?” he asked turning towards Kun. “Yeah, I do,” Kun confirmed. “Perfect! We were about to leave to head home for some dinner, but we’ll have to plan something soon,” Sicheng said.

“Lele, say bye to Jeno,” Taeyong said, waving at the boy in Sicheng’s arms. He gave both Sicheng and Taeil one-armed hugs then sent the couple on their way.

Chenle waved, sad that he already had to say goodbye to his friend. Kun bid his own goodbyes and took Taeyong’s hand in his own again. “What do you think? Is it time to go home?” he asked.

“We could go out for dinner,” Taeyong suggested, “it’s been a while since we’ve done that and I think Lele would enjoy it.”

“That’s sounds perfect,” Kun agreed, "where do you want to go?" Chenle whined a little when they started walking away, but quickly calmed down.

“There’s a cute little ramen shop up the street,” Taeyong suggested. It was small and quiet, perfect for both him and Chenle.

"Lead the way," Kun said, following Taeyong from the park. He didn't mind the quiet walk, it was a refreshing change from the hectic day he had. Kun smiled as he caught bits and pieces of Chenle's excited babbling.

Taeyong led the way out of the park, stopping at a bench to switch Chenle to his shoulders instead of his hip. The ramen shop was a couple of blocks away, closer to their apartment than the park.

Kun was content to just watch Taeyong and Chenle and if he wasn't hungry he would have been disappointed when they reached the restaurant. He held the door open and ushered the pair inside. There was only a few tables in the restaurant when they walked in and the music was much lower.

Taeyong lifted Chenle off his shoulders, putting the boy down to walk on his own as they entered the restaurant. “Booth for three,” he said after greeting the hostess.

Kun followed the hostess to a corner table. He slid into the booth and promptly pulled Chenle onto his lap. The toddler tried to wiggle off, but quickly gave in when he realized he wasn't getting anywhere. Kun hadn't been able to spend much time with Chenle lately, and he took every opportunity he had to hold his son close.

Taeyong smiled and slid into the booth across from Kun. “That’s so crazy that Taeil hyung and Sichengie still live around here and we’ve never seen them,” he said as he picked up his menu.

Kun nodded. "It's certainly nice to see them after all these years. Sicheng always talked about going home as soon as he graduated so I'm kinda surprised he stayed," he said. He finally gave in to Chenle and let the toddler slip off of his lap.

“You know he’d do anything for Taeil hyung,” Taeyong said with a soft smile, “those two have always been some sort of couple goals.”

"I think we give them a pretty good run for their money," Kun said, hiding a smile behind his menu. Chenle was completely oblivious and had entertained himself flipping the pages of the menu back and forth.

Taeyong smiled and nodded. He and Kun were definitely cute in their own right. “Lele, what do you want to eat?” he asked, flipping his menu over to find the kids section.

Chenle looked up when he heard his name but quickly dropped his eyes back to his lap. "Don't know," he mumbled. Kun sighed and leaned over to help Chenle read the menu. As bright as his son was, he was also stubborn and didn't like to admit when he didn't know what something said. Luckily by the time the waitress came over a few minutes later to take their orders, Chenle had picked something he wanted.

Taeyong ordered for himself and let Kun order for Chenle. Once the waitress had disappeared with their menus, he propped his chin on his hand and stared openly at his fiancé and their son, a small smile playing on his lips.

Now that the menus were gone, Chenle turned his attention to Kun's fingers. Kun watched the toddler for a few moments before looking back up at Taeyong. "Hi, there," he whispered.

“Hi,” Taeyong whispered back, smile widening. “Did you have a good day with us?”

“I did,” Kun replied easily, “and the best part is that it isn’t over yet.” He smiled back at Taeyong and leaned back in the booth. With both boys feeling much better lately and the upcoming trip, Kun was content.

Taeyong smiled and reached for Kun's hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of the younger man's hand. "I love you," he said softly.

“I love you too,” Kun said immediately. If there wasn’t a table in the way, he would have pulled Taeyong into his lap to kiss him, but that could wait until they got home. No more than a few minutes later, the waitress brought their food over and Kun’s focus switched to making sure Chenle didn’t spill anything on himself.

Taeyong watched his boys happily. There was nothing he loved more than seeing Kun with their son. Taeyong considered himself lucky to have all of this. Ten years ago, he wouldn't have even dreamed he'd get this far.

Kun kept sneaking not so subtle glances at Taeyong, but it seemed like every time he did there was a near mishap. Eventually he gave up and put his sole focus on Chenle. Dinner went smoothly considering what happened last time they went out. When they were done, Kun paid the bill and escorted his family out of the restaurant so they could head home. Chenle curled into his shoulder, worn out from his afternoon of adventuring.

Taeyong smiled, reaching out to comb down Chenle's hair. "Are you ready to sleep in tomorrow?" he asked Kun.

“I don’t think I’ve been this ready for a weekend since my last finals week,” Kun replied. It felt like eternity since the previous weekend and all he wanted was to wake up without an alarm with Taeyong wrapped in his arms.

Taeyong smiled and wrapped his hands around Kun's bicep, leaning on his fiancé as they walked. "Lele's already asleep," he said quietly, "seems like we'll have a few hours to ourselves."

Kun hummed contently when Taeyong leaned on him. “Do you have anything in mind to kill the time?” he asked, a smirk sneaking onto his face.

"I'm sure we can figure out something," Taeyong said cheekily as they reached their building. "Here, I can take Lele so he doesn't wear you out." Chenle may have been small, but he turned into a rock when he fell asleep.

“I’m sure we can,” Kun agreed with a chuckle. He gratefully handed Chenle over; carrying the toddler certainly gave him an arm workout.

Taeyong carefully laid Chenle over his shoulder and pushed open the door to their building. He let Kun get the elevator, and in no time he was laying his baby in bed.

Kun made a beeline for the couch and dropped onto it. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he waited for Taeyong to put Chenle down.

Taeyong changed Chenle into his pajamas and pressed a kiss to his forehead before carefully closing the bedroom door and heading out to his fiancé. "He's out like a light," he said quietly.

Kun picked up his head and reached out his arm towards Taeyong. “Hopefully he sleeps through the night,” he said quietly, “did you think of something to do in the meantime?”

Taeyong turned his head to look up at Kun. His fiancé was so stunning. Gently, Taeyong leaned up to kiss him. It was incredible; after all this time, he still felt fireworks.

Kun hummed contently and kissed Taeyong back. He pressed closer and reveled of the feeling of his fiancé’s soft lips against his own. He still wasn’t sure how he had gotten so lucky.

Taeyong pressed a little closer to Kun, but he kept it slow. He didn't want to take things too far tonight. He just wanted to keep it all simple.

Kun pulled away for a moment to catch his breath. His eyes roamed Taeyong’s face and he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “How did I get so lucky to have such a gorgeous fiancé?” he breathed.

Taeyong blushed and shoved Kun's chest lightly, hiding his face. "I am  _ not _ ," he whined. He couldn't stand it when Kun complimented him like that; he never knew how to respond.

Kun chuckled; Taeyong was just that much more adorable when he was flustered. “Why so shy?” he asked teasingly, pulling his fiancé closer.

"You know I don't like it when you say stuff like that," Taeyong mumbled, hiding himself under Kun's arm. He hated how bashful his fiancé could make him. It made him feel vulnerable.

“I know, I know, but I can’t help it,” Kun said softly. He nuzzled into Taeyong’s hair and sighed softly. “Would an ‘I love you’ be better?” he asked quietly.

"It would," Taeyong said, voice muffled. Despite everything, he always loved that little reminder.

“I love you to the moon and back,” Kun said sincerely, and he meant every word of it. He gently rubbed his arm up and down, smiling softly as he looked down at Taeyong.

"I love you too," Taeyong said softly, "as much as i possibly could." His heart only had space for the two, Kun and Chenle. That was it.


	14. Chapter 14

The next week flew by and before Kun knew it, they were walking into the airport. Chenle looked around curiously and stayed practically glued to Taeyong’s leg. “Baba, where going?” he asked quietly. Last time he was in a place like this he was leaving home to come to Korea.

Taeyong picked Chenle up and sat the boy on his lap. "We're going to China!" he said excitedly, "we're taking you home for a little bit! Isn't that exciting, Lele?"

Chenle’s eyes widened and he struggled to escape Taeyong’s hold. “No!” he cried, “no home! No leave! You promised!” By now, tears were streaming down the toddler’s face and he was still clambering to get off of Taeyong’s lap.

Taeyong just barely managed to keep Chenle contained in his arms. "Baby, baby, sh," he said, glancing around to see if Kun was on his way back from the bathroom yet. "You don't have to leave, Lele, that's not what's happening."

Kun watched Chenle trying to wiggle out of Taeyong’s arms and he panicked when he realized the toddler was crying. He practically sprinted the rest of the way over and grabbed Chenle just as he managed to wrangle free. “Lele, what’s wrong?” he asked worriedly. “Don’t wanna go back! Wanna stay! You promised!” he choked out between sobs. He pushed weakly against Kun’s chest, desperately trying to get out of his hold.

"Lele, Lele, listen to me," Taeyong said, standing up to approach the boy and his fiancé, "we're not leaving you, okay? We're just going to visit and then we're all coming home. _All_ of us, okay?"

Chenle stared at Taeyong, but he didn’t stop sobbing. “Don’t wanna go,” he said again. Kun sighed and rubbed the toddler’s back. “Lele, it’s gonna be okay. We’re just going to visit. We’re going to see where I grew up, does that sound fun?” he asked. Chenle didn’t answer and dropped his head into Kun’s shoulder, quickly changing his approach from trying to escape to clinging on desperately.

Taeyong carefully lifted Chenle from Kun's arms and let the boy cling to his own neck. Kun didn't need to get all messy from the meltdown that Taeyong had caused. "We're going to Fujian," he said softly, pacing and bouncing Chenle lightly, "we're gonna see where Kun baba grew up and meet all of his friends and meet Kun baba's mama and baba. Then we'll all come home to Seoul, Kunnie and Taeyongie and Lele."

"Lele not going back?" Chenle asked, untucking his head from Taeyong's neck. He was still sniffling, but Kun was glad he wasn't openly sobbing anymore. He felt horrible; he didn't think this would upset the toddler this much.

"Of course not," Taeyong reassured him, "we're not even going to be near Shanghai. Lele, we would never dream of leaving you in China without us. You're ours, I promise." He hated that he had made his baby so upset.

Chenle sighed and leaned back down. "Lele don't wanna go," he mumbled into Taeyong's neck. Kun felt his heart clench and he gently reached out to rub Chenle's back.

"We want you to see China," Taeyong said softly, "and learn about China, but at the end of the day, we'll always take you home with us, Lele. Nothing will ever change that, okay?"

Chenle tightened his grip around Taeyong's neck.  A few moments later he finally nodded slowly. "Baba, really promise?" he asked one last time. He trusted Taeyong, but he was still a little scared they might leave him behind.

Taeyong wasn't sure what he could promise on that would make Chenle understand how serious he was. "I promise," he said again firmly.

"Let's sit back down," Kun said gently.  He was incredibly grateful that Taeyong was able to calm Chenle down so quickly.  Chenle refused to loosen his hold on Taeyong and clung onto his father like his life depended on it.

Taeyong carefully sat in the seat behind him and held Chenle to his chest securely. He rubbed the boy's back, trying to keep him calm. "I'm sorry I scared you, baby," he murmured.

Chenle whimpered quietly and snuggled closer.  He slowly relaxed under Taeyong's gentle touch, but maintained his tight grip. "Lele, let me wipe your nose," Kun said reaching into their bag for some tissues. The toddler shook his head adamantly and stayed tucked into Taeyong's neck.

Taeyong took the tissue from Kun and managed to sneak his hand between Chenle's face and his own shoulder. "There we go, babe, all clean," he said softly.

Chenle whined, but didn't resist any further. Kun was worried, but the toddler seemed to be calmed down by the time it was their turn to board the plane. The next struggle was going to be getting the toddler to sit still for the duration of the plane ride.

When they got on the plane, Chenle was reluctant to let go of Taeyong. However, he needed to be buckled into his own seat for takeoff. "Kunnie, you sit at the window and I'll be on the aisle so Lele can sit between us," he suggested, trying his best to pull Chenle's fingers off of his shirt.

Kun slipped into the window seat. "Come on, Lele, we have to get you buckled. You have to sit alone for a few minutes and then you can sit with us again," he said, holding his hands out to take the toddler.

Taeyong managed to hand Chenle over to Kun and get himself buckled into the aisle seat. Between the two of them, they managed to get Chenle buckled in between them and Taeyong let the toddler latch onto his hand.

Even though Chenle had flown before, the toddler still looked absolutely terrified. “Lele, it’s okay,” Kun said soothingly, “we’re right here and in a few minutes you can sit on our laps.” He reached out and gently combed his fingers through his son’s hair.

Taeyong himself wasn't particularly fond of flying, so he knew it must be a million times worse for Chenle. "Here, baby, you have to chew some gum so your ears pop," he said, pulling out sticks of gum for all of them. It was a little risky, but it was the only way to make sure Chenle didn't spend the entire flight with sore ears. Hopefully, he wouldn't choke.

Kun ripped Chenle’s piece in half before giving it to him. “You have to be careful. Don’t swallow it, okay? Just chew it until we take off and then you can spit it out,” Kun instructed. Chenle nodded and took the piece of gum. Kun kept a careful eye on the toddler and popped his own piece into his mouth. He looked up at Taeyong and frowned when he noticed his fiancé’s  expression. “You okay, babe?” Kun asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m just not a huge fan of planes,” Taeyong said quietly. Flying made him feel claustrophobic, which was why he didn’t want to be trapped against the window.

“Just a few hours and it’ll all be over,” Kun said supportively. Between Chenle’s meltdown in the airport and Taeyong’s obvious discomfort, he was beginning to wonder if the trip was even worth it.

“It’s worth the anxiety,” Taeyong said with a half-hearted smile. The plane finally started to move and Chenle was gripping his hand hard enough to crush it.

Kun sighed sadly.  He hoped the plane ride went by quickly. As soon as they were in the air, Kun made Chenle spit out his gum. No sooner did the seatbelt light go off, was the toddler scrambling to get out of his seat and into Taeyong’s lap.

Taeyong managed to hold Chenle at bay until he got his own seatbelt undone, then gladly accepted the boy in his lap. “See? The plane isn’t that scary, Lele,” he said gently, trying to reassure himself just as much.

Lele snuggled as close as he could and tucked his head into Taeyong’s neck again. Kun slipped into Chenle’s seat and took one of his fiancé’s hands in his own. He watched his boys closely, making sure they were okay. He hated that there was nothing he could do.

Taeyong rubbed Chenle’s back gently, hoping that he could lull the boy to sleep for the duration of the flight. That would make it easiest on all of them.

Kun sat back and was glad to see Chenle slowly falling asleep. Once he heard the toddler’s breathing even out, he turned his attention back to Taeyong. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked softly.

“I’m fine, I really am,” Taeyong said, keeping his voice down, “I’m not scared, I’m just nervous.” Having Chenle close by and asleep certainly was helping though.

Kun nodded and stifled a yawn. It was hard to believe after all these years he was finally going back. While he was incredibly excited, he was also very nervous.

“Are you excited to see your parents?” Taeyong asked. Although they were staying in a hotel, Kun’s parents would be picking them up at the airport. Taeyong would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous.

Kun sighed sadly. “I...I don’t know,” he admitted slowly, “I’ve never had a great relationship with them and they take it out on you. On top of that, I have no idea how they’re going to react to Chenle.”

“Are you excited to be going back to Fujian?” Taeyong asked instead. He knew Kun’s relationship with his parents had been strained well before they’d even met, so he didn’t know why he had even asked.

Kun nodded immediately. “I just hope I remember my way around so I can show you everything,” he said quietly. He wondered how much had changed considering it had been ten years since he had been back.

“And your friends? I’m excited to meet them.” Taeyong carefully shifted Chenle to his other shoulder and smiled at Kun.

Kun was glad Taeyong was excited and he hoped everything lived up to his fiancé’s expectations. “They’re excited to meet you too,” he said. He had managed to get in contact with a few of them who were still home and they were ecstatic that Kun was finally coming back to visit.

“I have to admit that I’m nervous,” Taeyong said with a sigh, “my Mandarin is shaky at best and I really want them to like me.” Even after months of trying to teach himself, Taeyong was still struggling with Kun’s mother tongue.

“Oh, babe, don’t worry about that,” Kun said soothingly, “they are going to absolutely adore you. Besides they all speak a decent amount of Korean so you’ll be absolutely fine.” He felt bad that Taeyong was so nervous, but he found it so cute that his fiancé wanted to get along with all of his friends.

In no time at all, the seatbelt light was back on. Taeyong managed to get Chenle strapped into his seat without waking the boy up and they landed. He tasked himself with carrying Chenle off the plane, still feeling bad for making the boy so upset earlier. “Ready, Kunnie?”

Kun sighed. “I think so,” he replied as he grabbed their carry on. After finally getting off the plane they headed straight for baggage claim. By the time their luggage had come around, Chenle had woken up. “Alright, let’s go find my parents,” he said nervously.

Taeyong tried putting Chenle down, but the boy clung to him tightly, so he kept him in his arms. The boy at least seemed interested in his surroundings and was peering around shyly.

“If he gets too heavy I can take him,” Kun said. With that he led his family through the airport and weaved through the mass of people until he finally found his parents. He stopped in his tracks for a moment and took a shaky breath before calling out to them. This was it.

“I’ve got him,” Taeyong reassured Kun. It was a little better now that Chenle wasn’t entirely dead weight in his arms. When Kun stopped and called out, Taeyong followed his gaze, swallowed nervously as he caught sight of the younger man’s parents.

“Oh, Kun, it’s so good to see you,” his mother said happily as she wrapped her son in a hug. Kun stood there stiffly for a moment before returning the hug. When he pulled away he noticed his father staring at Taeyong and Chenle. “Well you both know Taeyong,” he said nervously, “and this is our son, Chenle. Lele, this is my mama and baba.”

“Lele, say hi!” Taeyong said to the boy. Chenle waved shyly then hid himself in Taeyong’s neck. “Mr. and Mrs. Qian, how are you?”

“We’re doing wonderful,” his mother replied, staring at Chenle. “Kun, he’s absolutely adorable,” she said, stepping closer. “He came to us a couple of months ago from Shanghai,” Kun explained. He chewed on his lip; his father still hadn’t said anything, but his mouth was pressed into a hard line.

"Mr. Qian, how's business?" Taeyong asked. He was trying his best to be friendly and bridge the gap, but it was proving difficult. He didn't even know what Kun's father did, just that he was an engineer.

“It could be better,” he replied simply. Kun didn’t miss the way his father looked at him. He shot an apologetic look at Taeyong and turned his attention towards Chenle. The toddler was slowly warming up to his mother, who was completely enthralled by the toddler.

Taeyong sighed. He obviously wasn't going to get anywhere with these two. "Shall we head back to the hotel?" he suggested, "Kunnie and I can check in and then we can all go find lunch."

“Yes, of course. The car is this way,” his mother replied, finally looking away from Chenle. Kun sighed in relief and fell into step next to Taeyong. “So, Kun, where are you going to take Taeyong and Chenle?” his mother asked after a moment. “Around,” Kun replied cryptically, “I managed to get in touch with Jun so we’re going to see him tomorrow.” He was excited to show his family around and he just hoped everything lived up to their expectations.

Taeyong knew he should put Chenle down, but he honestly didn’t even notice the weight anymore. The boy also made a good barrier between him and his in-laws, although he’d never admit that out loud.

The car ride was luckily uneventful. Kun had his nose practically pressed against the window, turning around to point out a few things here and there to Taeyong and Chenle. It felt weird to be home, but a good weird. When they got to the hotel, they excused themselves to go check in and bring their luggage to the room. “I can tell them we decided to take a nap and find some lunch later if you want,” Kun offered as soon as they were out of earshot.

“No, it’s okay,” Taeyong said, “I’d feel bad if we didn’t at least spend a little time with them. It’s been six years. How bad can they be?”

Kun chuckled dryly. “I have no idea and that’s what I’m worried about,” he admitted slowly. Chenle had dropped his head onto Taeyong’s shoulder and looked about ready to go back to sleep.

“You wanna go eat lunch, Lele?” Taeyong asked, adjusting his grip on the boy. They would definitely have to come back to the hotel after eating. They could all use a nap.

Chenle nodded slowly. “Hungry,” he mumbled in Taeyong’s neck. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” Kun said with a sigh. Once their luggage was secure in their room, they made their way back to his parents car. “Where are we going?” he asked confusedly when his father immediately started driving off. “Oh you’ll see when we get there,” his mother answered with a smile.

Taeyong strapped himself in with Chenle on his lap. He couldn’t leave the boy without some sort of secure seat, but there was no proper car seat for a toddler in the car. He hoped they weren’t going far.

Kun was hit with a wave of nostalgia when they drove into his old neighborhood. It didn’t take long before he figured out where they were going and he smiled when they reached the restaurant. “We used to come here for lunch every weekend during the school year,” he explained to Taeyong.

"That's so cute," Taeyong said as he lifted himself and Chenle out of the car. He made the toddler walk this time, but held his hand tightly.

Kun smiled as he watched Chenle take in his surroundings. It felt weird only being a few minutes away from his old house and he didn’t think he’d ever get used to being home. Other than Chenle’s meltdown in the airport their morning had gone relatively well, but that luck ran out the second they sat down at the table. “So, Taeyong, what exactly is it that you do?” his father asked.

"I actually just published a novel a few weeks ago," Taeyong said proudly. He could officially call himself an author and nothing less.

Kun watched his father sit back and raise an eyebrow. "Oh? What about?" he asked simply. Kun chewed his lip, he didn't want their whole lunch to be spent interrogating his fiancé. Chenle was sitting on Taeyong's lap and was staring across the table at Kun's father warily.

"It's a historical fiction novel about a gay couple during the Joseon era in Korea," Taeyong explained, "not exactly a happy story, but it's been selling really well."

"Fascinating. I'm glad it's successful," his father said. His tone wasn't particularly excited, but Kun was glad it at least wasn't disdainful. "How did you come to get Chenle?" his mother piped up. Kun quickly turned his attention from his father to his son and smiled softly.

"We were looking to adopt and start a family. There's an agency that does international adoptions and they matched us with Chenle right away and he was just perfect," Taeyong said, looking down at his son lovingly.

"Well he seems to absolutely adore you two," his mother commented. Chenle took that opportunity to snuggled closer to Taeyong. "We got lucky," Kun said softly, "he adjusted pretty quickly and is a really great kid." After they ordered, his father stayed relatively quiet and soon enough their food at arrived. Kun was going to offer to take Chenle so Taeyong could eat, but he knew his fiancé would refuse so he simply watched them instead.

Taeyong moved Chenle to his own chair so they both could eat. "He's very intelligent for his age as well," he said, "we've been working on teaching him Korean and sign and he's picked both up very quickly."

Chenle whined as he was put in his own seat, but quickly quieted down when his food was put in front of him. Kun smiled proudly, all he wanted to do was show his son off, although the toddler probably wouldn't enjoy that very much. "He's picking up sign too? That is impressive," his mother said, "what are you going to do with him during the trip?" "He'll stay with us," Kun answered quickly. "Don't you two want some time just to yourselves?" she asked, almost confused.

Taeyong smiled proudly. “We want to show Chenle as much of Fujian as we can,” he explained, “we’re doing our best to make sure he still feels connected to China.”

"Oh that's wonderful. I'm sure he'll appreciate that when he gets a little older," Kun's mother said sweetly, "you'll have to come by the house one night for dinner." Kun smiled gratefully, "we certainly will." One of the few things he had missed from home was his mother's cooking.

Taeyong just barely managed to stop Chenle from dropping food all over his lap. He wiped the boy's face and helped him cut the food up to make it smaller. "Here, babe," he said, holding the food out to Chenle.

“I wonder where he gets his messy eating habits from,” Kun’s mother commented jokingly, staring directly at her son.  Kun immediately dropped his eyes to his lap, a smiling pulling at his lips. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, holding back a laugh.  Maybe Chenle would be the way for him to rekindle his relationship with his parents. He just had to work on his father.

Taeyong smiled gently, helping Chenle finish his food. Once the boy was done, Taeyong turned back and finished his own lunch. Chenle whined and leaned against his side. He knew the boy was tired and was doing his best to get out of the restaurant quickly.

Kun did not want to deal with two meltdowns in one day. So he thanked his parents for lunch and accepted a ride back to the hotel. After promising to visit one night late in the week, Kun bid his parents goodbye and guided his family up to their room.

Chenle was mostly asleep by the time they made it back to the hotel. He whined sleepily as Taeyong got him changed and laid him in the bed.

Kun was glad Chenle was getting some rest, the poor boy had a long morning. He sighed and collapsed into the arm chair in the corner. Smiling softly, he watched his son for a moment; the toddler looked so small in the middle of the large bed. "Are you gonna lay down?" he asked Taeyong.

"Yeah," Taeyong said, doing his best to suppress a yawn. He was honestly exhausted, but he wanted to spend time with his fiancé too.

"Good. Take a nice nap," Kun said gently, "we'll do something nice and relaxing tonight when you wake up." He turned his head down to look at his phone, typing out a quick message.

"Take a nap with us," Taeyong said as he laid down next to Chenle, moving the boy to lay on his chest.

As tired as he was, Kun didn't have the time to take a nap, but he certainly wasn't going to deny his fiancé the company. He quickly threw on some sweatpants and a t-shirt and slid into bed next to his boys. Kun leaned against the headboard and reached down to gently run his fingers through Taeyong's hair.  

Taeyong sighed and felt his body relax the moment Kun touched him. He closed his eyes, letting his hand rest on Chenle's back. "Night, baby," he mumbled.

Kun smiled and watched his boys for a few moments. He was actually home for the first time in a decade and his beautiful family was right next to him; life couldn't get any more perfect. After typing out another message, Kun leaned his head back and closed his eyes while he waited for a response.

Taeyong fell asleep pretty quickly, holding Chenle to him securely.

Kun didn't realize he fell asleep until he suddenly blinked his eyes open. Looking down at his phone he realized it had been nearly an hour and he had several messages to respond to. He was glad Taeyong and Chenle were still asleep; they both needed the rest.

Taeyong groaned and woke up briefly, but not for long. He fell back asleep almost immediately.

Kun smiled softly and continued running his hand through Taeyong's hair for another minute. Once all of his messages were taken care of, he gave in and laid down. He wrapped a protective arm around his boys and within the next few minutes, he was asleep.

Taeyong sighed when he felt Kun wrap around his back. He settled back against his fiancé and let himself be pulled back into dreamland.

Kun wasn't quite sure how long he had been asleep for when he woke up again, but he didn't care in the slightest.  He was content to just lay with his boys in the quiet hotel room and that was exactly what he did.

“Kun-ah,” Taeyong mumbled, hand tightening on Chenle’s back, “no, Kun-ah. Kunnie, Lele...Kun-ah!” He woke with a gasp, chest heaving.

Kun sat up quickly when he heard Taeyong shout his name. “Tae, what’s wrong? I’m right here, everything’s okay,” he said as soothingly as he could manage. He gently rubbed his fiancé’s back with shaky hands.

“I’m okay,” Taeyong said shakily, “just a bad dream.” He didn’t remember much of it, just that he was stranded and losing Kun and Chenle.

“Oh no, babe,” Kun murmured softly, “it’s all over and I’m right here.” Chenle whined softly and blinked his eyes open before quickly closing them and settling back down.

“I know,” Taeyong said quietly, trying not to wake Chenle again, “I just hate the thought of losing you.”

Kun felt his heart clench. “You aren’t going to lose me,” he assured quietly, “I’m not going anywhere.” He felt horrible that Taeyong had had such an upsetting dream, especially when they were supposed to be able to lay back and relax.

“Or Lele,” Taeyong said softly. He rolled slightly to face Kun, making sure that the sleeping toddler was safe between them.

Kun sighed sadly and bit his lip. He wrapped a protective arm around both of his boys again and held them close.  Losing his family was terrifying to Kun and he tried to push those thoughts from his mind.

“But we’re fine, we’re safe, it was just a weird, stupid dream,” Taeyong said, more to reassure himself than anything. “Let’s order takeout to the hotel and eat in bed and just stay in tonight, okay?”

Kun sighed sadly. “Of course, whatever you want to do,” he said softly.  He was a little disappointed they were going to be staying in the room, but Taeyong’s happiness was more important and Kun wanted to make sure his fiancé was safe first and foremost. Besides, this was much better than his original plan for the night anyway.

“I don’t think Lele’s planning on being awake anytime soon anyway,” Taeyong said, running a hand through the boy’s hair. It was getting long and he would have to see if Chenle wanted it cut.

“I don’t think so either,” Kun said softly. He simply laid there for a moment watching his boys. A few moments later he rolled over and snagged his phone from the nightstand.

“We should make our plan for tomorrow,” Taeyong suggested, laying back down slowly, his back leaning against Kun’s shoulder.

“Jun really wants to meet you,” Kun said, “but if you’d rather it just be us tomorrow we can see him later in the week.” He wanted to meet up with his friend at least once: although if everything worked out, he would get that and then some.

“No, I want to meet your friends,” Taeyong said excitedly, “maybe we can meet him for lunch then take Lele somewhere touristy in the afternoon?”

“That sounds perfect to me.  I’ll text Jun right now and ask him,” Kun said happily. He was already texting his younger friend so after retyping his message and pressing send, he tossed his phone to the side.

“I’m excited,” Taeyong said. This entire trip was exciting and he was glad that they had decided to come. Hopefully, this would help repair things between Kun and his parents as well.

“I think you might be more excited than I am,” Kun said with a soft smile. He was more than ecstatic to be home, but his fiancé’s enthusiasm was enviable. He couldn’t help but worry that it would be harder to say goodbye this time when they left.

“I’ve always wanted to come here with you,” Taeyong admitted, “but I knew you weren’t on the best terms with your parents, and with the way we’ve had to work for the last few years. It just wasn’t practical.”

Kun smiled fondly and nodded in agreement. “You have no idea how happy this makes me,” he whispered quietly. Of all the places in the world Taeyong could have wanted to go, he picked Kun’s hometown.  

The rest of the night passed peacefully. Chenle woke up briefly to eat dinner, but was out like a light soon after. The boy was tuckered out from his big day of traveling and Taeyong could definitely relate. He laid down not long after, hoping to be fully rested for their long day coming.

Kun was content to spend his evening in bed. Even despite his nap, he was exhausted and happily laid down again to fall asleep. He pressed as close to his boys as he possibly could.


	15. Chapter 15

When Taeyong woke up the next morning, it was to tiny hands patting his cheeks. He smiled and cracked his eyes open to find Chenle sitting up and entertaining himself. He giggled when he noticed that Taeyong was awake and moved over to give him a wet kiss.

Chenle was so entertained with Taeyong that he didn’t notice Kun wake up and reach his arm over. The toddler shrieked happily, which morphed into giggles, when he was pulled backwards and pinned against Kun. “Good morning,” Kun said cheerily as he held his baby close.

“Morning,” Taeyong said sleepily, leaning over to kiss Kun gently. “Are you ready for today?”

“Definitely,” Kun replied happily. He finally released Chenle who scrambled over to Taeyong and clung on for dear life, still giggling. Kun looked up at his fiancé worriedly. “How did you sleep?” he asked.

“I slept well since I was next to you,” Taeyong said, cringing at the cheesiness of the statement.

Kun chuckled quietly, "you really are quite the romantic." He rested his head on his hand and watch Chenle entertain himself with Taeyong's shirt. After a few minutes of just watching his boys, he rolled onto his back with a groan.

"What time are we meeting Jun?" Taeyong asked as he finally sat up, settling Chenle in his lap. He was excited but he was definitely nervous as well.

"One. I didn't want to wake up early and that way we have the whole morning to ourselves," Kun replied, "he doesn't think you know any Mandarin so if you introduce yourself, he'll be impressed." He had told Jun almost everything about his fiancé and son, but he wanted to keep a couple of things a surprise.

"I'll try my best," Taeyong said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "So that means I can go back to sleep for a while, right?"

"Absolutely, get some more rest," Kun said. There was no way he was getting anymore sleep so Kun just laid in bed for a few more minutes. He eventually slowly rolled out of bed and meander around the room to get some clothes before heading into the bathroom.

Taeyong wrapped Chenle in his arms, holding him securely even as he wiggled around. "Lay with me, Lele," he singsonged.

Chenle whined in defeat and settled into Taeyong's arms. He kept his eyes on the bathroom door, waiting for Kun to come back. That effort proved futile as by the time Kun walked back into the room, the toddler was asleep again.

Taeyong smiled when Chenle fell back asleep. He was always so enamored with his baby. Looking at Chenle, he could almost say that the miscarriage didn't hurt as much. Certainly, if he never had another child, he would be content.

Kun didn't want to risk bothering Taeyong or Chenle so he sat himself in the arm chair. He slid the large curtain open just enough that he could see out the window. With a soft sigh, he rested his head on his hand and enjoyed the view.

Taeyong woke up again a few hours later. He checked his watch and saw that it was nearing noon. With a groan, he laid Chenle back on the bed and got up to get changed.

Kun turned around when he heard Taeyong get up. He smiled when Chenle crawled over towards him and reached his arms out. Kun easily scooped the toddler into his arms and set him on his lap. Chenle reached out for the curtain and Kun opened it more and pointed out a few of the places he recognized.

Taeyong got changed quickly and wandered back out into the room to find Kun pointing out different places to Chenle. "How long does it take to get there?" he asked.

"Only ten minutes," Kun answered, "it's an easy walk." He stood to help Chenle get changed and tame the toddler's growing hair.

"Oh good," Taeyong said, "let's go early so we can take our time, maybe wander a bit."

“Yeah that’d be nice,” Kun said excitedly. “Do you want to go explore?” he asked the toddler. Unsurprisingly, he received an eager nod in response and his smiled widened.

"You have to walk this time, Lele," Taeyong warned. He couldn't handle two days straight of carrying the toddler everywhere. Chenle was heavy.

Chenle pouted but latched onto Taeyong’s hand regardless. “I’ll carry you on the way back,” Kun promised. That seemed to satisfy the toddler and with that they headed out.

Taeyong held Chenle's hand, swinging their arms back and forth happily. "Are you excited to meet Baba's friend, Lele?"

Chenle giggled and swung his arm with Taeyong’s. “Baba, friend is nice?” he asked staring up at Kun. “Of course, baby. He’s going to absolutely adore you,” Kun responded.

By the time they had meandered their way to the cafe, it was actually nearing the time they were supposed to meet Kun's friend.

They sat at a table outside and Kun’s eyes scanned the crowd that walked by until he found who he was looking for. “There’s Jun,” Kun said to Taeyong excitedly as he stood up. He waved to catch Jun’s attention and walked briskly over to greet him. “I’m so happy to see you! God it’s been so long,” he commented as he enveloped his friend in a hug.

Taeyong gave in and lifted Chenle into his arms. He smiled as Kun greeted his friend. When the other man's attention turned to him, he smiled and politely introduced himself.

Kun smiled proudly when Taeyong introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Jun said, "I heard a lot about you, but nothing about you knowing Mandarin." Kun feigned ignorance and turned his attention to the toddler in his fiancé's arms, "and this is our son Chenle." Jun waved to the toddler and his face lit up when Chenle waved back.

“Just a little,” Taeyong said shyly. His Mandarin really was terrible, but he tried his best, for Kun and for Chenle. “Shall we?”

"I tried to get Minghao to come today too, but he couldn't get off so you'll just have to wait until Friday night to see him," Jun said as he took his seat. "Oh that would be great. I didn't expect him to be around at all," Kun said, happily.

"Friday night? What's happening on Friday?" Taeyong asked as he sat Chenle in a booster seat and sat between the toddler and his fiancé.

Jun raised his eyebrows and looked at Kun. “We’re gonna go out. There’s a nice bar nearby and I thought an adult night would be fun,” Kun explained. He wasn’t quite sure how Taeyong would feel about it, but they could certainly use a date night.

"What about Lele?" Taeyong asked, concerned. He didn't assume that Kun's parents would want to take the toddler for a night, no matter how well-behaved he was.

“My parents are more than willing to watch him. I figured we can spend the afternoon with them and let Chenle get used to the house and then we can pick him up in the morning,” Kun said. Despite his mother barely knowing Chenle she was already in love with the toddler.

Taeyong nodded slowly. He wasn't sure how much he really wanted to leave Chenle with Kun's parents that long, but he would enjoy a night out with just himself and Kun. It would be good to properly let loose for once.

“We’ll talk more about it later,” Kun said reassuringly. “So what have I missed?” Jun smirked, “Where do I even begin?” He immediately launched into a recap of the past several years. Kun made sure Taeyong was as involved in the conversation as possible, explaining who everyone Jun mentioned was.

Taeyong would be the first to admit that he was a little out of practice. He hadn't gone clubbing since grad school and certainly not while together with Kun. It would be an experience for sure. He felt confident though. He had met Kun's friend Minghao, who had insisted on letting Taeyong borrow his clothes when he found out that the older man had nothing suitable. He hadn't let Kun see, of course, so now he was waiting nervously, in his ripped black jeans, black band tee, fishnet long sleeve, combat boots, and heavy dark makeup, for Kun and his verdict.

“Some things never change,” Jun commented when Kun walked out of the bathroom. Kun had hardly gone out even back when he was home so he simply wore skinny jeans and a nice royal blue shirt, the top few buttons left undone. The only accessory he had brought for himself was the belt that he donned. “Come on you need some jewelry,” Jun said, dragging Kun off. Kun graciously accepted a thin silver chain to borrow, but balked when Jun offered him earrings. After a few minutes of convincing and a little more finagling, he put the simple studs in. He couldn’t take it much longer and all but shoved Jun off of him to finally go see Taeyong.

Even though Kun’s outfit was simple, he still looked incredible in Taeyong’s eyes. “Babe, why don’t you dress like this all the time?” He asked playfully, shamelessly checking Kun out.

Kun froze when he saw Taeyong and barely registered what his fiancé had said. He snuck a look at Minghao, who was wearing a very pleased expression. “I...I...” he trailed off and instead let his eyes roam over Taeyong’s body. He hadn’t seen the elder dress like this since college and it was certainly leaving him flustered. “I could ask you the same thing,” he finally said, lips pulling into a smirk.

Taeyong could feel himself flushing slightly. He had foregone his hearing aids for the night, given that he would just leave them turned off anyway, but Kun’s words and expressions still came across clearly. The tension was unreal.

“Come on let’s get going,” Jun said impatiently. “You got a date?” Kun teased as he laced his fingers with Taeyong’s. “Maybe,” Jun replied cryptically. With that, he led their small group to the club, leaving Kun very confused and even more curious.

It seemed like no time before they were in the club and heading to the bar for a drink. It was Minghao that ordered the drinks and they soon each had a shot in their hands. Taeyong hissed at the burn as the alcohol went down. “Let’s dance!” Minghao yelled.

Kun shook his head when Minghao handed him a shot, but didn't dare refuse. It was nice to see that his friends hadn't really changed. He set the shot glass back down on the bar with a shake of his head and turned towards Taeyong. "Ready?" he asked with a smirk.

“I need a few more drinks in me first,” Taeyong said, shaking his head. He leaned across the bar to get the attention of the bartender and order another round of shots.

Kun nodded and turned around to lean against the bar. His eyes swept the crowd and quickly found Minghao in the middle of a small circle, soaking up the attention. When the new round of shots came, he turned back to the bar to take his. "Yanan! Over here!" Jun called behind him. Kun nearly choked when he heard who Jun called over.

Taeyong quickly threw back his second shot, scrunching his nose as his throat burned. When he turned around, he nearly toppled over in his effort to look up at the giant man behind him. The newcomer was easily over six feet tall and Taeyong small frame simply couldn’t compete.

Kun slid over next to Taeyong. He looked between Yanan and Jun for a moment and had to remind himself not to gape. Jun had already practically shoved a shot down Yanan's throat and now had his arms wrapped around his waist. "Yanan? Wow, I certainly didn't expect to see you here. How are you?" Kun greeted, eyeing the pair suspiciously. They had never really gotten along in highschool so to see them not jumping down each other's throats was incredibly odd.

“I’m good!” Yanan said, “Jun said you were back in town for a bit and basically threatened me if I didn’t show up tonight, so here I am. How are you? Who is this?”

"Everything's really good. This is my fiancé, Taeyong," Kun said proudly wrapping his arm around the older man's waist, "we came for a short visit with our son, Chenle, and he wanted to meet all of you." He turned towards Taeyong and made sure he could see his lips before explaining who Yanan was.

“He talks too fast, I can’t keep up,” Taeyong said lowly, just for Kun to hear. Of course, they were probably all speaking in Mandarin anyway, but he still felt a little outside. Yanan seemed nice, but Taeyong really couldn’t tell.

Kun frowned and leaned back again. "Jun was telling me you all studied abroad together. How much do you remember?" he asked, half-teasingly in Korean. There wasn't much he could do about Yanan talking too fast, but he hoped Taeyong would at least be able to follow a little better now.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Taeyong said, “you’ll have to forgive me; my hearing and my Mandarin are both pretty bad.” He could tell the music was loud so he did his best to speak over it.

Kun rubbed his hand slowly up and down Taeyong's side. "I wanna go dance," Jun whined, tightening his grip on Yanan, "Minghao's already out there and he's probably found someone by now." Kun shook his head and continued to watch the pair. He couldn't quite wrap his head around how they were clearly a thing.

Yanan groaned and shoved Jun off of him. "You're like a leech," he grumbled, "c'mon, let's go find Hao." With that, they took off into the crowd, looking for their friend.

Kun furrowed his eyebrows and watched Yanan walk off with Jun following him like a lost puppy. "I'll explain everything later, but they did _not_ get along last time I saw them," he said. Turning back to the bar he ordered one more round for both of them. Sneaking a look over his shoulder revealed that Jun and Yanan had quickly found Minghao and the group he was with.

Taeyong eyed the shot in Kun's hand apprehensively. "This is the most alcohol I've had at once since grad school," he said, taking it and tossing it back before Kun could stop him. He would definitely regret it in the morning, but that didn't matter now.

Kun smiled before taking his own shot. "We deserve to have a little fun like the good old days, hm?" Kun said, "I'm going to the bathroom and you better be ready to dance by the time I get back." He was growing more confident now that the alcohol was starting to hit him. Taking one last look at Taeyong to make sure he was okay, Kun headed across the bar.

"Taeyongie, c'mon!" Minghao shouted, taking Taeyong by the hand and dragging him into the crowd. The alcohol was starting to hit and made him much more confident. When Minghao suggested that they try and make Kun jealous, Taeyong found himself readily agreeing.

Kun walked back over to the bar and panicked when he couldn't find Taeyong. He looked frantically around the room and was surprised to find him pressed against Minghao. Minghao was wearing a large smirk and looked content to spend the rest of his night right where he was. Unfortunately for him, Kun didn't like to share so he stalked over to the pair, intending to break them up.

Taeyong wasn't at all surprised when Minghao started to grind on him. He spotted Kun out of the corner of his eye and looked down, biting his lip as he responded to Minghao's movements in kind. His night was about to get a lot better.

Kun stopped in his tracks and scowled as he watched Taeyong dancing with Minghao. He couldn't believe his fiancé was so content to grind all over one of his friends and he wasn't about to let it continue. Taking a deep breath, he walked the rest of the way towards them and all but yanked Taeyong away from Minghao and against himself instead. "And what exactly do you think you're doing?" he growled.

Taeyong gasped when he was suddenly yanked away from Minghao. He couldn't tell what Kun was saying, but based on the look in his fiancé's eyes, he could guess. Behind him, Minghao pouted and wrapped himself around Taeyong, one hand around his waist and the other in his front pocket. "We're just dancing, Kunnie," he said, tugging Taeyong back toward him.

Kun's eyes narrowed and he stared at Minghao. "I'm sure there are plenty of people here who are willing to dance with you who are _not_ already taken," he said, tone deadly. In the back of his mind, he knew Minghao was just doing this to make him jealous and he hated to admit that it was working.

"Well, yeah," Minghao said with a scoff, "but I wanna dance with Taeyongie. Don't worry, I'll return him unharmed. Mostly." The alcohol was starting to get to Taeyong and he lost focus on the conversation. He started swaying to the feel of the music, his back still pressed to Minghao's front.

"Mostly?" Kun asked incredulously. He looked down at Taeyong, who obviously had no qualms about dancing with Minghao. Kun wanted to chalk it up to just the alcohol, but a small part of him wasn't sure if that was it. With a shake of his head, Kun released his hold on Taeyong. "You two have fun," he said flatly. And with that he disappeared off to a quiet corner, absolutely seething.

Taeyong pouted when Kun walked away and turned to face Minghao. "Where's he going?" he asked, still swaying against the younger man absently, "I wanna dance with Kunnie." "Kun ge's just jealous," Minghao said breezily. Taeyong pouted more and pulled himself away from Minghao to go find his fiancé. It wasn't fun if Kun wasn't having fun with him.

Kun sat himself in a corner and kept his back towards the dance floor. He looked up at one point and tightened his grip on the glass of water he was holding when he saw Taeyong walking towards him.

Taeyong latched himself to Kun’s side with a pout. “What’s wrong, Kunnie?” he asked, “you should come dance! Loosen up!” His pout turned to a frown and his finished quietly. “I miss you.”

Kun’s mouth pressed into a hard line. He pried Taeyong off of his side so that his fiancé could see his lips. “If you missed me so much, why were you so content to grind all over Minghao?” he asked slowly.

“He was grinding on me!” Taeyong protested, “what was I supposed to do, just stand there?” In his mind, it made perfect sense. He didn’t mind Minghao touching him, so he saw no reason not to reciprocate. It wasn’t like he would even consider going home with the younger man.

Kun chuckled dryly and shook his head. He didn’t know how he didn’t see this coming, considering he knew how everyone was when they’re drunk. “Go have fun,” he said flatly, completely brushing Taeyong off.

Taeyong was shocked when Kun brushed him off so coldly. “But I want to have fun with you,” he said sadly.

Kun put his glass down and turned to face Taeyong. He stared at his fiancé for a moment and his heart clenched at his sad expression. “I want to have fun too, babe, but how am I supposed to dance with you when you’re wrapped around someone else?” he asked.

“We were just dancing,” Taeyong said with a pout, “I was waiting for you to get back.” He shouldn’t have listened to Minghao.

"We're not in college anymore. Things are different now," Kun said quietly. He knew Taeyong was in no state of mind to be having this conversation, so he trailed off. Kun sighed and stood up, quickly realizing that he was not as sober as he thought he was. Taking a step forward he wrapped his arms around Taeyong's waist and pulled him closer. "I don't want to ruin either of our nights so what do you say we have some fun," he dropped his voice, "just the two of us."

Taeyong was a little offended by that. Did Kun think he was less dedicated to him now than before? Did his fiancé trust him less than he did in college? With a sigh, he pulled himself away from Kun. “I’m gonna get another drink,” he mumbled, making his way over to the bar.

Kun knew that was probably not a good idea, so he followed Taeyong closely. He stopped the older man before he ordered and spun him around. “Babe, are you sure you want another drink?” he asked slowly.

Taeyong nodded and moved around Kun to signal the bartender. He wasn't going to get anything heavy. He just needed to be a little more drunk.

Kun sighed and stepped to the side. Looking up he quickly found Jun and Yanan in the middle of the dance floor. He wasn’t surprised that they were still together, but he was surprised to find their tongues down each other’s throats.

Taeyong got a cocktail and sipped it as he sat at the bar. He didn't really feel like dancing any more. His eyes scanned over Kun's friends and he wasn't particularly surprised to find Yanan and Jun tangled together. Their tension had simply been too strong to hide anything.

"We can go home early if you want," Kun suggested slowly. By the time Taeyong would finish his drink it would be too late to get Chenle, but they could at least go back to the hotel. Minghao had essentially disappeared and Jun and Yanan wouldn't notice if they left.

"Nuh uh," Taeyong said, "cause then we're gonna go to bed and we're both gonna be sad and that's not good. I wanna dance with you still."

Kun nodded in agreement. "How about you finish that drink and then we can get onto the dance floor," he said. He hadn't gone dancing in a long time and it would certainly be nice to dance with Taeyong considering they came all the way here.

Taeyong downed the rest of his drink quickly, excited by the prospect of dancing with Kun. He wobbled a little as he got up and dragged his fiancé out into the crowd.

Kun held onto Taeyong tightly, making sure neither of them toppled over in their quest to get on the dance floor. After they found a spot, Kun stopped abruptly, pulling Taeyong back towards him.

Taeyong wrapped his arms around Kun's neck, letting himself be guided around. "You're really pretty," he mumbled, hiding his face to avoid Kun's response.

Kun opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it when Taeyong hid his face. He smiled as his hands came up to rest low on his fiancé's waist.

Taeyong swayed against Kun, letting the vibrations from the music guide him. The alcohol was beginning to kick in again and Taeyong wanted nothing more than for Kun to take him to bed.

Kun hummed contently and danced along with Taeyong. His grip on his fiancé's waist tightened and he began to relax, finally enjoying the buzz of the alcohol.

Taeyong felt more confident as the music changed and started to press himself closer to Kun. He snuck a kiss onto Kun's jaw, mumbling about how hot his fiancé was.

Kun flushed lightly at all of the compliments, grateful that the club was dimly lit. He shuddered when Taeyong pressed a kiss onto his jaw and tilted his head to capture his fiancé's lips instead.

Taeyong smiled as Kun kissed him. They were trapped somewhere between grinding and slow dancing in the middle of the club. It was cute, really.

Kun was happy that they were able to enjoy their night although he would have much rathered to start off this way. His dancing had only gotten worse since college so he was content to keep a relatively slow pace. Although he couldn't stop himself from occasionally rolling his hips against Taeyong's.

Taeyong eventually couldn't take it anymore. "Let's go back to the hotel," he mumbled, mouth still close to Kun's ear. "I wanna do some stuff that's illegal in public."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: the majority of this chapter is gratuitous smut!

Kun sucked in a breath but quickly found himself smirking. He pulled back from Taeyong and wordlessly grabbed his fiancé's hand. Quickly he guided them out of the bar and had never been more grateful the hotel was only a five minute walk away. During their walk, Kun found his mind wandering to all the things they could get up to once they got back to the hotel.

Taeyong let himself be guided back to the hotel. He was getting more and more excited for what his fiancé might do to him. They hadn't had sex, especially dirty sex, in a long time.

Kun took no more than two steps into the hotel room before he was kicking off his shoes. He walked over to the side of the bed and turned on a small lamp so Taeyong would be able to see what he was saying. "So what illegal stuff did you have in mind?" he asked lowly after he turned around to face Taeyong. He still had a little liquid courage left in him, which was half the reason he was still wearing a smirk.

"I didn't really get that far," Taeyong said shyly. His liquid courage was starting to fade and he wasn't sure what he wanted Kun to do.

Kun chuckled and stepped closer to Taeyong. "Well first things first you're going to need less clothes," he said slyly, "and lucky for you I can help with that." He quickly undid the buckle of the elder's belt and slid it off. After tossing it to the side, he deftly undid the button of his fiancé's jeans and then focused his attention on getting his shirts off. He tried to be careful, but his impatience was evident in his roughness.

Taeyong got frustrated by how slowly Kun was taking his shirts off. "They're Minghao's," he whined, "rip em up. Aren't you mad at him anyway?"

That was all the motivation Kun needed. He quickly shoved the shirts up Taeyong's torso and over his head. Even though they were Minghao's he didn't want to destroy them, but a small hole or two wouldn't hurt. Once his fiancé was shirtless, he pushed his jeans off his hips, leaving him just in his boxers. "Get on the bed," he instructed.

Taeyong dropped the shirts to the side and stepped out of his jeans. "Are you still jealous or something?" he teased, running on the last of his liquid courage.

Kun narrowed his eyes. “He should have never danced on you like that,” he said flatly. Closing the gap between him and Taeyong, he began walking his fiancé backwards towards the bed. Slowly he began unbuttoning his own shirt.

Taeyong let himself drop onto the bed and grabbed onto Kun's shirt, yanking the younger down with him. "You know I'm all yours, baby," he mumbled.

Kun let Taeyong pull him onto his bed and easily settled himself over his fiancé. He let his eyes roam over Taeyong's face before leaning down. Smirking slightly he stopped when his lips were just out of reach.

Taeyong pouted when Kun stopped just a hair away from his mouth. "Are you gonna fuck me or should I go find someone else?" he teased.

Kun froze. Taeyong was just drunk, he was just teasing...right? With a quick shake of his head, Kun pushed the comment out of his mind and leaned down. He ghosted past Taeyong's mouth and went right to his fiancé's neck. Not giving the elder any time to think, Kun bit into the sensitive skin and ground his hips down, hopefully that was answer enough.

Taeyong gasped when Kun suddenly bit into his neck. "Fuck, that's really high up," he gasped, "shit, Kunnie." That one would be hard to hide.

Kun smirked and didn't move his lips from where they were. He continued to suck and nip at the skin until he was satisfied with the mark he had left. Pushing himself up slightly, he marveled at his handiwork. "Now everyone will know you're mine," he said lowly.

Taeyong could tell that he had gotten a little harder by the time Kun had pulled away. "Not so high," he said, panting.

If they didn't have to see his parents tomorrow, Kun would have ignored the request. Instead he kissed down Taeyong's neck and latched onto his collarbone instead. He planned on teasing his fiancé as much as he could; it was only fair.

Taeyong groaned and turned his head to the side, giving Kun better access. He was more than fine with this.

Kun eventually grew bored of this so he slowly sat up. Letting his eyes rake across Taeyong’s exposed torso, he reached down and began undoing his own belt, but he had no plans of throwing this one away.

Taeyong grew impatient and reached up to tug at Kun's shirt buttons. Once they were all undone, he pushed the shirt off of Kun's shoulders.

Kun let go of his belt just long enough to take his shirt the rest of the way off and drop it to the floor. He slid the leather accessory out of the belt loops and reached down to grab Taeyong’s wrists. Suddenly he pushed them above the elder’s head and pinned them there. Wrapping the belt around his fiancé’s wrists, Kun fastened it, trapping his arms together. “Is that too tight?” he asked. As upset as he was for his stunt with Minghao, Kun would never dream of hurting Taeyong, especially like this.

"Not tight enough," Taeyong said with a slight smirk. He was a bit of a masochist when it came to restraints, so long as he could see his partner.

Kun reached up and tightened the belt a couple more notches. Slowly he reached down and popped the button of his pants open. After a couple seconds his slowly pulled the zipper down, all while holding eye contact. He knew Taeyong was growing more and more impatient, but he wanted to drag this out as much as he could.

Taeyong pouted as Kun dragged out undressing himself. "C'mon," he whined, "I'll get myself off if you don't hurry up, Kunnie."

“Aw, is someone a little impatient?” Kun teased. Eventually he gave in and pushed his pants and boxers off and kicked them somewhere onto the floor. He slowly leaned down and after taking a deep breath, kissed Taeyong deeply.

Taeyong kissed Kun back immediately. He was still a little intoxicated, so the kiss was a little sloppy as he did his best to shove his tongue in his fiancé's mouth.

Kun moaned quietly and easily opened his mouth. He gently took Taeyong’s tongue between his teeth and teasingly tugged on it. One of his hands found its place on his fiancé’s waist, while the other brushed lightly over the material of the choker still around the elder’s neck.

Taeyong shuddered when Kun's fingers grazed across his neck. He had the momentary urge to ask his fiancé to tighten his grip, but the sober part of his brain stopped him. That was not a kink to attempt while intoxicated.

Kun pulled away, panting slightly. He looked down at Taeyong for a moment and just reveled in his fiancé’s beauty. Slowly a smirk found its way back onto his face when he reached down and palmed the elder through his boxers.

Taeyong groaned and pushed into Kun's hand. "You're so slow," he complained, "I need you in me already, Kunnie."

“This is what you get for your little stunt earlier,” Kun said simply. Regardless, he reached down and pushed Taeyong’s boxers down his thighs.

"It wasn't even my stunt," Taeyong whined, pouting up at Kun. Why should he be punished because Minghao got frisky?

“But you went along with it,” Kun pointed out. He pecked Taeyong gently before pushing himself off the bed. Walking over to his suitcase, he quickly dug around until he found what he was looking for.

Taeyong pouted and rolled onto his side to keep Kun in his sight. He still didn't have his aids on and wasn't planning on finding them at the moment.

Kun carried the bottle of lube back to the bed. He guided Taeyong to roll onto his back again. After squeezing a little into his hand, he reached down and gently took Taeyong’s cock in his hand and stroked him slowly. Not wanting to hear anymore whining, Kun quickly pressed his lips against the elder’s.

Taeyong gasped into Kun's mouth and moaned softly. He had missed this level of intimacy with his fiancé and it was nice to finally have the chance to get close like this again. It didn't hurt that Kun's hands were perfectly callused too.

Kun eagerly swallowed all of Taeyong’s moans and tilted his head to deepen the kiss. He let go of his fiancé’s cock so that he could press a finger to his hole. As impatient as the both of them were at this point, Kun still wanted to drag this out as much as possible.

Taeyong instinctively tilted his hips up, giving Kun better access. "You're so infuriating," he mumbled.

Kun barked out a laugh. “But you still love me,” he said. Not giving Taeyong a chance to respond, he slowly pushed his first finger in.

Taeyong was about to respond but was cut off by his own moan. Kun's finger felt bigger than he remembered; that's how long it had been since he'd been fingered by either himself or his fiancé.

“You’re so tight, babe,” Kun gasped out. He gave Taeyong a minute to adjust before slowly moving his finger. Kun peppered gentle kisses around his fiancé’s face, enjoying the feeling of the soft skin beneath his lips.

Taeyong groaned; the intrusion actually hurt a lot. "I think you need more lube," he gritted out, glad that Kun was at least trying his best to be gentle.

Kun pulled his finger out as quickly as he could without hurting Taeyong further. He reached for the bottle of lube again, grateful he hadn’t thrown it far. After reslicking his fingers, he lined them up again, but was almost scared to push in.

"I'm okay," Taeyong said when he noticed Kun's hesitation, "it's just been awhile. We need to be a little more cautious than we used to be."

Kun nodded and slowly pushed his first finger back in and kept a nervous eye on Taeyong’s face. He didn’t move it yet and instead waited for his fiancé to give the okay.

Taeyong had to take a few moments and breathe through it. He didn't think he had been in this much pain during sex since the beginning of college. It wasn't Kun's fault either. It was simply his body rebelling against it all.

Kun froze when he saw how uncomfortable Taeyong was. “Do you want to stop?” he asked. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Taeyong and there were plenty of other things they could get up to.

“No, no, that’s okay,” Taeyong said hurriedly, “we just need to be slower than anticipated. Not so jealous, a little more loving, yeah?”

Kun nodded immediately. He kissed Taeyong gently and kept his finger still. He hadn’t been this nervous for sex since their first time back in college.

Taeyong finally felt the tenseness leave him and he nodded to let Kun move.

Kun took a deep breath and slowly moved his finger, careful not to thrust too deep. He watched Taeyong nervously for a few moments before slowly leaning in to kiss his fiancé gently.

Taeyong groaned when Kun finally started to move his finger, but it wasn’t in pain. Now that his muscles had relaxed, the stretch even of just one finger actually felt nice.

Kun didn’t dare to add a second finger yet. He didn’t mind going slow but he still wanted to have some fun so he nipped playful at Taeyong’s lower lip.

Taeyong easily let his mouth fall open for Kun. All of his nerves were on fire and he couldn’t help the small moans that fell from his lips.

Kun kissed Taeyong forcefully, almost like he was scared of losing him. As desperately as he wanted to, he was careful not to get too rough.

“You can add another,” Taeyong mumbled after a while, when he was fully relaxed. He knew it would still be a little tight, but the second would be much better.

Kun pulled back and stared at Taeyong for a moment. Slowly, he pushed in a second finger and waited a moment to give his fiancé time to adjust.

Taeyong gasped. “Shit, that’s a lot,” he mumbled. It wasn’t unbearable, just more than he was expecting.

Kun kept his fingers still for another moment before slowly moving them. He peppered gentle kisses around Taeyong's face trying to get him to relax.

This was probably the slowest Kun had ever prepared him. By the time Taeyong was comfortable on three fingers, he wasn’t even intoxicated anymore.

When Kun was sure that Taeyong was properly stretched he slowly pulled his fingers out. After slicking himself up, he paused before pushing in, wanting to be sure the elder was ready. 

“C’mon,” Taeyong whined, “I can handle it.” He just wanted his fiancé in him already.

Kun finally pushed in, satisfied that Taeyong was okay. He hid his head in the crook of his fiancé’s neck and dragged his teeth across the soft skin. Eventually he couldn’t take the waiting anymore and rolled his hips slowly.

Taeyong gasped loudly, tipping his head back and arching his back. “Fuck, Kun-ah,” he gasped out, “holy  _ shit _ .”

Kun moaned quietly and continued rolling his hips. “You feel so good,” he breathed. He kissed up Taeyong’s neck and along his jaw, while one of his hands rested on his fiancé’s waist.

Taeyong pulled his legs up and wrapped them around Kun’s hips. He moaned, enjoying the new angle. “Fuck me,” he demanded.

Kun smirked and immediately snapped his hips sharply. He groaned lowly between heavy breaths. All previous reservations were gone and he let his hand slide up Taeyong’s body.

Taeyong cried out when Kun started fucking him harshly. “Fuck, you’re s-so good,” he stuttered.

Kun moaned at the praise and kept up his rough pace. He was getting closer and closer to the edge with every thrust. Reaching in between their sweaty bodies he took hold of Taeyong’s cock and stroked slowly.

Taeyong hid his face in Kun’s neck, trying to quiet his moans. When his fiancé wrapped a hand around his cock, Taeyong lost it. Moaning loudly, he came all over Kun’s hand.

Kun wasn’t much far behind and a few more thrusts sent him over the edge. He came with a low groan and gradually slowed his hips down as he rode out his high. Kun kissed Taeyong sweetly before pressing their foreheads together.

Taeyong’s chest heaved as he laid under Kun. “Holy fuck, I missed that,” he panted after a minute, “but my wrists are definitely bruised by now.”

"Oh no," Kun mumbled. He pulled out carefully and reached up to release Taeyong's wrists from the belt. He sat up so he could take his fiancé's wrists in his hands and run gentle circles over them.

“Thanks, babe,” Taeyong said quietly, “I love you. None of the stuff I said before was serious, you know that, right?”

Kun smiled softly. “I know and I love you too,” he whispered. He was always worried that someone better than him would come along and steal Taeyong’s heart, but he would never admit that aloud.

Taeyong smiled and leaned up to kiss Kun gently. “Thank you for loving me,” he said quietly. He would never admit it, but he still wasn’t entirely convinced that he deserved Kun’s love and affection.

Kun's smile widened and he happily kissed Taeyong back. Despite being fluent in two languages, there were still not enough words to describe how much he loved Taeyong. "Sometimes I really don't know how I lived before I met you," he said. He knew it was cheesy, but it was true. His life was so...empty before he met his fiancé.

Taeyong wrinkled his nose and settled in his fiancé’s arms. “I’m gonna have to wear a scarf tomorrow,” he whined, “it’s fuckin’ May, Kunnie, I’m gonna die of heat stroke.”

Kun chuckled. "A scarf is going to be suspicious as it is, so you might as well not bother," he said lightly. He knew his parents wouldn't say anything directly to him, but who knows what Chenle would ask.

Taeyong groaned. “Your parents are just starting to like me too,” he complained, “now they’re gonna think I corrupted their son.”

Kun couldn't help but laugh. "They aren't going to like you any less I promise. Maybe they'll finally understand how much I like you," he said teasingly.

Taeyong pouted. “I hate you,” he whined, “keep your damn teeth to yourself next time.”

Kun bit his lip to keep himself from laughing again. “Should I keep my arms to myself too?” he asked jokingly, loosening his grip on Taeyong ever so slightly. He felt a little bad teasing his fiancé so much, but it was hard to resist.

Taeyong rolled his eyes and finally pulled away from his fiancé. “I’m going to clean up,” he announced, “wanna join me?”

Kun didn’t need to be asked twice and immediately leapt out of bed to follow Taeyong to the bathroom. They both fell asleep as soon as they climbed back into bed. Before he knew it, they were walking up to his parent’s house to get Chenle.

Taeyong reaches out to ring the doorbell, hand tightly clasped in Kun’s. Just moments later, the door swung open and Mrs. Qian appeared with Chenle behind her. “Baba!” the boy cried, running out and wrapping himself around Taeyong’s legs, “Missed you!”

Kun smiled; he didn't realize how much he missed his son until now. "How was he?" he asked turning towards his mother. "Oh, he was an angel just like you said he would be," she said happily, stepping aside to let the men in, "he even fell asleep with your father watching TV last night." Kun was surprised that his father would even bother spending time with the toddler, but he was happy.

Taeyong picked Chenle up, settling the boy on his hip as he stepped inside the house. “Were you good for Kunnie’s mama and baba last night?” he asked.

Chenle nodded immediately. "Baba, hurt?" he asked nervously, tiny fingers reaching out towards the bruise on Taeyong's neck. Kun snickered, but promptly dropped his eyes to the floor when he saw his mom look from Taeyong to him.

“No, baby, it doesn’t hurt,” Taeyong said reassuringly, avoiding Chenle’s actual question. He was not about to explain to his toddler what a hickey was.

"So, how was your night?" Kun's mother asked with a knowing tone. Kun cleared his throat. "It was certainly interesting. I didn't think I'd ever see Jun and Yanan together," he said simply. He hoped that was enough information that his mother would leave him alone.

“How was your night, Lele?” Taeyong asked quietly, “did you have fun?”

Kun happily listened to Chenle's exciting recount of his night. His father came down a few minutes later and they all talked for a while. Eventually it came time for them to get going. He hugged his mother tightly and bid both of his parents goodbye, promising to come back and visit when Chenle got a bit bigger. This was their last day in the city so Kun wanted to do something a little special. After dinner that evening, he announced that they were going on a walk, but didn't say to where; he wanted it to be a surprise.

"This trip has been incredible," Taeyong said with a sigh as they strolled around Fujian. He was glad that he had gotten to see where Kun grew up, and that Chenle had had the chance to see China again.

Kun smiled softly. He had Chenle balanced on one hip and he reached his free hand over to hold Taeyong's. "I'm really glad you enjoyed it. There's one more place I want to take you, but it is a little bit of a hike," he said carefully. He was a little scared that Taeyong wouldn't want to go, but he had a back up plan if need be.

"Lead the way," Taeyong said with a smile. Even the longest of hikes couldn't bring his mood down at the moment.

Kun's smile widened and he squeezed Taeyong's hand. They walked back through his old neighborhood, but instead of continuing in the direction of his old house they deviated down a narrow side street that led to the base of a hill. Kun paused for a moment and let the nostalgia wash over him before beginning the slow climb up. He didn't quite remember the hill being this tall when he was younger, but that was back when he made this walk everyday and didn't have a toddler to carry.

Taeyong smiled as he looked through Kun's neighborhood. It was full of traditional buildings and just felt so much like a home. He could clearly picture Kun clambering around here as a child.

Once they reached the top, Kun was panting slightly; it had been a long time since he made that climb. He looked around and smiled fondly when he realized that the tree he used to climb was still standing. He carefully put Chenle down so the toddler could explore the small grassy area. "I used to come up here all the time as a kid with Jun to play, and almost every night in high school," he explained.

Taeyong smiled as he looked around. "It's so pretty," he said. Chenle was running through the grass happily. "You can see so much from up here."

Kun sighed happily. "Yeah you really can," he said quietly. He guided Taeyong to sit down and pulled his fiancé against him. They watched Chenle frolic around for a little while, and called the toddler back over when it started to get a little darker. Kun pulled the giggling toddler into his lap and held him close as his son did his best to escape, still laughing gleefully. "The best part isn't even getting to see the whole neighbor," Kun said quietly when Chenle had finally settled down.

Taeyong smiled softly as he watched his boys play. "This is nice," he said quietly as he leaned his head on Kun's shoulder.

Kun twisted his head to press a gentle kiss to the top of Taeyong's forehead. He smiled widely when he looked up and saw thousands of dazzling stars covering the night sky. "Lele, look up," he coaxed, "what do you see?" Chenle sat himself up in Kun's lap and pressed his back against his father's chest as he looked up. "Stars!" he said excitedly, twisting around to take them all in.

Taeyong laid down on the grass with a sigh. "It's so stunning," he whispered, not wanting to disturb the peace.

Kun beamed happily. It meant a lot to him that Taeyong enjoyed this as much as he did. “I would come up here after school and do my homework until it got too dark to see and then I would watch the stars for a few hours before heading home,” he said softly. He turned his attention back to Chenle and began pointing out some of his favorite constellations and some that he thought his son would enjoy. Kun never dreamed he would ever be back here, let alone with his fiancé and son, and he didn’t think he had ever been happier.

“I’m glad you brought us here,” Taeyong said softly. Chenle was laying between the two of them, fast asleep in the grass. This was one of those moments that Taeyong would kill to live in forever.

"I was scared you wouldn't enjoy this as much as I do," Kun admitted slowly, "but I have a lot of memories from up here and I've been waiting all week to show you." He sighed quietly and let his fingers comb through Chenle's soft hair. It was almost bittersweet to be back, but he was incredibly happy that he could share this spot with his fiancé and son. "We can head back down whenever you're ready," he whispered after a few moments.

It was starting to get a little chilly, but Taeyong wanted to spend a few more moments before leaving. When he felt Chenle start shivering against his side was when he finally suggested they head back to the hotel.

Kun stood up and help Taeyong to his feet before scooping Chenle into his arms. The toddler whined quietly, but didn't fully wake up. All the nervousness Kun felt about this trip had completely melted way and he wished he could stay longer, but he knew they had to go home. Before he knew it, it was the following morning and they were heading to the airport. Kun stared out the window of the plane the entire flight and was almost sad when they landed back in Korea. Soon they were all back home in their apartment and they all promptly went to bed, leaving the unpacking for the morning.


	17. Chapter 17

It was almost weird being back in Korea after their week exploring the beauty of Fujian. Taeyong definitely wanted to go back more often. As the weeks passed, he settled back into his casual routine of writing and caring for and teaching Chenle.

Kun was even less excited about going back to work than he was about coming home. He wasn't working quite as many hours and was pleasantly surprised that everything seemed to be in order upon his return. Throughout the next several weeks, they settled back into a routine and he was sure to keep in better contact with Jun and his parents.

Taeyong was glad that he now routinely slept in, as did Chenle. To his own devastation, he had started getting sick again in the mornings, but Kun leaving so early meant it was at least easy to hide. A drugstore test had confirmed his suspicions and Taeyong simply didn’t want to get his hopes up.

"I'm home," Kun called just as he did every night when he got home. He greeted Chenle and scooped the toddler into his arms. It didn't take long to find Taeyong in their small apartment. "Hey, babe, how was your day?" Kun frowned as he got a good luck at Taeyong. "You look exhausted. Did you sleep okay last night?"

Taeyong hummed. “It took me a while to fall asleep last night,” he said, knowing Kun would buy the excuse. Taeyong had recently started working on his second novel and his mind was constantly abuzz with new ideas.

Kun nodded in understanding. "I can keep on eye on Chenle while I cook if you want to go lay down until we eat," he offered. He didn't like seeing Taeyong so tired and he was glad the weekend was almost here so he could help out around the house more.

Taeyong hummed. “I think I’ll take you up on that,” he said quietly, kissing Kun’s cheek before disappearing into their bedroom.

Kun turned his attention to the toddler in his arms and set him up at the kitchen table to help with dinner. “Taeyong baba’s birthday is coming up soon. What do you think we should do?” he asked. He already had a couple ideas in mind, but he knew Taeyong couldn’t resist anything that was their son’s idea.

Taeyong managed to sleep for a few hours. He was a little nauseous when he woke up, but he didn't get sick, which was a positive. With a yawn, he wandered out into the kitchen. "Smells good," he said, wrapping himself around Kun's back.

Kun smiled when Taeyong wrapped around him. “It’s almost done,” he said quietly, “how did you sleep?” He snuck a glance at Chenle who was entertaining himself with the wooden spoon and an empty mixing bowl.

"Good," Taeyong mumbled, "but I accidentally fell asleep with my ears in. Are you okay if I take them out for, like, half an hour?"

“Of course,” he replied. Chenle knew enough signs at this point to ask for anything he may need from Taeyong so Kun wasn’t worried. Even after all these months he still felt guilty about their argument, but at least they were communicating more.

Taeyong carefully took his aids out and set them on the table before wrapping himself around Kun again. He was still tired and his fiancé made a wonderful pillow.

Kun hummed contently and continued making dinner. It was comforting to have Taeyong pressed against his back and he found himself leaning against his fiancé. Not more than ten minutes later, dinner was ready and he reached back to rub Taeyong’s side gently to get his attention.

Taeyong peeked over Kun's shoulder and noticed that the food was ready. He peeled himself away from his fiancé's back and made his way over to Chenle. "Let's go wash our hands, Lele," he said cheerily.

Chenle reached his arms up to Taeyong to be carried to the sink. Kun smiled fondly and busied himself setting the table.

Taeyong carries Chenle to the bathroom and helped the toddler wash his hands. Once they were both cleaned up, he let the boy run back to Kun, following behind him slowly.

Kun scooped up Chenle and sat the giggling toddler into his booster seat. He looked up when Taeyong came back in. “Babe, are you okay?” he asked concernedly, “you look pale.” He hoped Taeyong wasn’t getting sick again considering how hard it had hit him last time.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Taeyong said, lying through his teeth, "I'm just tired still. It's been a long week."

Kun frowned, but didn’t push it. “Just one more day and then it’s the weekend,” he said. He sat in his own seat and turned to help Chenle eat without getting anymore food on himself.

Taeyong nodded and sat down, putting his aids back into his ears so they wouldn't get dirty on the table. "This looks good, Kunnie."

Kun smiled, but didn’t look away from Chenle. “That only matters if it taste good,” he said lightly. He was glad that Chenle wasn’t a picky eater, although the toddler was known to turn his nose up at vegetables every so often.

Taeyong found himself zoning out as he ate. It was good, it was, but he was simply exhausted. He was barely keeping himself from passing out in his plate.

Kun kept sneaking looks at Taeyong while they ate. The moment Chenle had finished he pulled the plate away from the toddler and turned towards his fiancé. “Come on, we’re getting you to bed,” he said, not giving Taeyong any room to resist.

Taeyong couldn't argue. He was anxious and tired and really just wanted to go back to bed. "'M sorry I'm leaving you with Lele," he mumbled.

“Why are you sorry?” Kun asked, slightly confused, “you’re home with him all day. I like having time with him at night.” He carefully guided Taeyong down the hallway after making sure Chenle was okay.

"You're busy all day," Taeyong said, "I'm supposed to take care of him so you don't have to worry when you get home and here I am."

“Tae, what are you talking about? He’s our son. Part of being parents is sharing the responsibility for him,” Kun said. He furrowed his eyebrows and watched Taeyong closely. They had Chenle for several months at this point and this had never come up before.

“Yeah, but you have a full time job and I don’t,” Taeyong said, “taking care of Lele shouldn’t wear me out more than your job does to you.”

Kun sighed sadly. “That doesn’t matter, babe. Taking care of a toddler is exhausting on top of working on your book. And who knows maybe you’re coming down with something. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter why you’re tired, just that you are. You need a break so come on and lay down,” Kun said. He was getting more and more worried as they kept talking; Taeyong was acting so off.

Taeyong sighed and did as Kun said. He laid in bed and pulled a pillow into his arms. “I still feel bad,” he mumbled.

“Oh, babe,” Kun murmured and took a seat on the edge of the bed. He reached over and combed his hand through Taeyong’s hair. “What’s going on? You obviously don’t feel good and this had never come up before.” He had a feeling Taeyong wouldn’t tell him, but he had to ask.

“Nothing, nothing,” Taeyong said evasively, “I really just feel bad.” He couldn’t tell Kun he was pregnant, not when there was still a chance he would lose it again. He couldn’t get his fiancé’s hopes up like that.

Kun frowned. He knew Taeyong was lying to him, but he didn’t want to start an argument. “Get some rest and we can talk more later,” he said quietly. He kissed Taeyong’s forehead gently and headed back to the kitchen to get Chenle.

Taeyong sighed and laid down. “Love you,” he mumbled as Kun left the room.

“Alright, baby, I’m back,” Kun said when he walked back into the kitchen. He threw the dishes in the sink to be washed later and scooped the toddler out of his booster seat. Chenle gripped onto Kun’s shirt. “Taeyong baba not feeling good,” he mumbled. “I know, Lele. We’ll help him feel better after your bath,” Kun replied. He didn’t want to scare Chenle, but that made him even more worried.

When Taeyong woke up on his birthday, he found himself alone. With a groan, he rolled out of bed, glad that the morning sickness had seemed to ebbed away for the day. Yawning, he went looking for Kun.

Kun was in the kitchen making breakfast and listening to Chenle happily babble on about nothing in particular. Eventually he heard footsteps coming from the bedroom and smiled. “Lele, get ready, Taeyong baba is coming,” he said quietly. Chenle immediately fell silent and twisted himself around so he could watch the doorway closely.

Taeyong shuffled into the kitchen, still rubbing his eyes tiredly. He hadn't been sleeping as well lately, so he hoped that Kun had planned a lowkey day.

“Happy birthday, baba!” Chenle shouted happily the moment Taeyong stepped into the kitchen. He ran across the kitchen and latched himself on Taeyong’s legs. “Happy birthday, babe,” Kun said, much quieter but still cheerily. If Taeyong wasn’t awake before he certainly would be now.

Taeyong smiled and picked Chenle up to settle the boy on his hip and kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Lele," he said happily.

Chenle giggled happily. “Present now?” he asked not really directing it to anyone in particular. “Why don’t we do presents after breakfast, Lele,” Kun suggested. He had just finished cooking and was begin to plate their food.

Taeyong sat down at the table with Chenle still in his lap. "Did you help Kun baba make breakfast?" he asked.

Chenle nodded. “Good helper,” he said proudly. Kun chuckled quietly. “You are a very good helper, Lele,” he said as he placed their plates of food on the table. He grabbed his own plate and then sat down in his chair with a sigh. “How did you sleep last night?” he asked conversationally.

Taeyong smiled and moved Chenle over to his own seat. "Good," he said, "better than I have been at least. Thanks for cooking."

"Of course," Kun answered between bites of food, "so do you have any requests for today or do you trust what Chenle and I have planned?" He hadn't thought of anything crazy to do considering Taeyong never made a big deal out of his birthday, but he had a couple of ideas up his sleeve for them.

"Just as long as it's not anything too big, I trust your plans," Taeyong said after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"It's all small stuff I promise," Kun said sincerely. Going to Taeyong's favorite restaurant for lunch was about as big as his plans for the day got, but he wanted to try and keep as many of his ideas as possible a surprise.

Taeyong nodded agreeably. Hopefully that meant they'd be spending the day at home. He should have been more careful when eating; he was already beginning to feel nauseous again.

"Lele, why don't you go get Taeyong baba's present while I'll clean up breakfast," Kun said when they were done eating. He helped the toddler climb down from his chair and watch him race from the room. Slowly, he stood up, collected the dirty plates, and brought them to the sink. Less than a minute later, Chenle was back with the picture he had been working on all week for Taeyong. Kun had printed out his favorite picture of the three of them and let Chenle recreate it. Obviously he had helped the toddler quite a bit, but it was Chenle's project nonetheless.

Taeyong smiled widely as he took the picture from Chenle. "Lele, this is so good!" he praised, "did you draw this yourself?"

Chenle snuck a look at Kun, who nodded, before turning back to Taeyong. "Yes!" he said excitedly. Kun chuckled at Chenle's enthusiasm.

Taeyong smiled and ruffled Chenle's hair. "I'm gonna hang this up at my desk later," he said. Chenle had obviously had some help with the lines, but that just made him love it more.

"Okay!" Chenle said happily, "baba, play a game?" "Lele, it's Taeyong baba’s birthday so maybe ask what he wants to do," Kun prompted gently. "Oh," Chenle mumbled, "what game baba wanna play?" Kun shook his head fondly; the toddler really was trying his best.

"Why don't we play something gentle?" Taeyong suggested, "baba doesn't feel very good right now."

"Baba sick?" Chenle asked worriedly. Kun frowned. He felt bad that Taeyong didn't feel good on today of all days. He wouldn't even mind spending the rest of the day in bed, but he hoped Taeyong felt good enough to go out later.

"I just ate a little fast," Taeyong explained, "I'll be okay in a little bit."

Chenle was satisfied with that and grabbed Taeyong’s hand. “Play gentle,” he said. Kun on the other hand wasn’t entirely convinced, but he didn’t want to say anything if front of Chenle. Maybe if Taeyong still wasn’t feeling good after the toddler went to Jeno’s he would bring it up.

Taeyong took Chenle's hand and let the boy drag him off to play. They settled in Chenle's room, sitting on his floor surrounded by toys.

Chenle didn’t know which toy Taeyong wanted so he quickly began gathering all of them and bringing them to his father. Once Kun finished cleaning up the kitchen, he followed his boys into Chenle’s room and couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Taeyong all but trapped by Chenle’s toys.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle clambering around gathering all of his toys. “Lele, why don’t you just pick what you want to play with?” he suggested.

Chenle froze in the middle of the room. After a moment of debate, he dropped the blocks he was carrying and scurried off to the far corner of the room to grab his toy cars. He all but ran back across the room towards Taeyong. Kun smiled fondly and simply watched from his spot in the doorway.

Taeyong tried to clear a space on the floor around him so that Chenle wouldn't trip on anything or sit on anything painful. "You wanna play cars, Lele?"

Chenle nodded eagerly as he skidded to a halt in front of Taeyong. He wasn't sure which car Taeyong would want to play with so he held both hands out.

“Pick one for me,” Taeyong requested, closing his eyes and holding out his hands.

Chenle paused for a moment, looking between the cars in his hand. He finally decided to give the red one to Taeyong and keep the green one for himself. After putting the red car in Taeyong's open palm, Chenle plopped himself down on the floor and scooted himself closer, until he was practically sitting in his father's lap. 

Taeyong exaggerates a gasp when he opened his eyes. “Thank you, Lele!” he said with a wide smile, “are we racing them?”

Chenle giggled happily and nodded eagerly. "Race to Kun baba," he said turning around to face the doorway. Kun smiled fondly and knelt down, but stayed where he was.

“Okay, Lele, ready?” Taeyong said, lining his car up next to Chenle’s.

"Three, two, one, go!" Chenle shouted. He immediately took off, pushing his car as fast as he could towards where Kun was kneeling.

Taeyong didn’t actually move across the room but pushed his car toward Kun. Obviously, Chenle got there before his car had even stopped halfway.

Chenle slid to a stop right in front of Kun and smiled triumphantly when he realized that he won. "Again?" he asked hopefully, turning back towards Taeyong.

“Sure, baby,” Taeyong said agreeably, “you gotta bring me the car though.”

Chenle grabbed his own car and scooped up the red one on his way back to Taeyong. He handed his father his car and plopped down again. "Ready?" he asked when he was settled.

Taeyong lined the car up again. “And...go!” He pushed the car harder this time, so it actually did reach Kun, but Chenle still got their first.

"Again!" Chenle said immediately once he had reached Kun. Halfway back to Taeyong he realized he didn't have his car and had to double back. A huge smile was plastered on his face as he ran back across the room and Kun couldn't help smiling widely too.

“Lele, why don’t you race Kun baba to get back here?” Taeyong suggested. If anything, he just needed a two second break.

"Okay!" Chenle agreed easily. He handed Kun the green car and waited patiently for the countdown. After a false start, he was finally off and running back towards Taeyong. Once he got there, he abandoned his car and all but tackled Taeyong in a big hug, effectively landing himself in his father's lap.

Taeyong let himself fall backwards when Chenle tackled him. “Hi, baby,” he said with a smile.

"Hi, baba," Chenle said between happy giggles. He laid his head down on Taeyong's chest and snuggled closer, completely forgetting about the race they were supposed to be having. Kun smiled fondly and slowly stood up. If there was one thing he wished it was that he could spend every waking moment he had with his boys.

Taeyong slowly sat up, settling Chenle in his lap and still holding him securely. “You won, Lele,” he said with a smile.

Chenle giggled happily and resettled himself in Taeyong’s lap. “Baba, feel better?” he asked quietly after a few moments.

“Yeah, baby, you helped me feel better,” Taeyong said. He still felt a little queasy but that was easily ignorable.

Chenle smiled happily and wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s neck. “Kun baba, come come,” he said, twisting himself around best he could. Kun chuckled fondly, but walked across the room anyway. He sat down next to Taeyong, pressing their shoulders together. “What do you need baby?” he asked quietly.

Taeyong extracted one of his arms to wrap around Kun’s waist so he could lean his head on his fiancé’s shoulder.

Kun hummed happily and dropped his shoulder slightly so Taeyong would be more comfortable. Chenle wordlessly repositioned himself so that he was sitting in between Kun and Taeyong, but held onto Taeyong’s shirt tightly. Kun leaned his head on Taeyong’s and smiled at Chenle. This moment truly couldn’t get any more perfect.

Taeyong let it go a few moments before he had to move. “I love you both, but this floor is hard and my ass hurts,” he said, moving to get up.

“Tae, be careful what you say,” Kun admonished gently. Chenle was looking between them curiously and all Kun could do was sigh. The last Korean words he needed the toddler picking up were swears. He took Chenle into his own lap and slowly stood up.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Taeyong said before realizing what he had said and blushing deeply. Yikes, he must be really tired.

Kun rolled his eyes and smacked Taeyong in the arm gently. “Lele, why don’t you clean up all your toys and then we’ll get ready to go,” he said setting the toddler down and hoping that was distraction enough. He turned his attention back to Taeyong. “What’s wrong with you today? You’re usually much better at filtering yourself,” he said more concerned than angry.

“I don’t know, I must just be tired,” Taeyong lied. He knew it was because his nausea was distracting him, “I haven’t been feeling great lately in general.”

“Oh, babe, come here,” Kun said pulling Taeyong closer. Meanwhile Chenle was “cleaning up” which had really just turned into playing the the different toys he forgot he had out. “Do you want to stay home and lay low for the rest of the day? Taeil and Sicheng said they’d take Chenle for the afternoon and evening so it’ll be nice and quiet,” he said.

“Oh, I don’t wanna ruin your plans,” Taeyong said. He knew Kun wanted to take him out and he wanted to spend the day with his family.

“It’s alright, babe. Besides if you’re not feeling well I’m not sure if going out to lunch is such a great idea, and we can always go a different day,” he said gently.

“Are you sure?” Taeyong asked slowly. He definitely didn’t feel well enough to go out, but he would go if Kun wanted to.

“Positive,” Kun said, “you obviously need some rest and I am not the least bit opposed to spending the afternoon in bed.” Chenle had only managed to put away a couple toys, but he was content to continue playing.

“Lele, if you put away all your toys, we can go cuddle in baba’s bed,” Taeyong said, leaning around Kun to look at their son.

Chenle nodded and made a mad dash around the room, putting toys away in the first place he could find. After a little help from Kun, the floor was free of toys and Chenle bounded over to Taeyong to latch onto his hand.

Taeyong smiled as he took Chenle in one hand and Kun in the other, letting them both drag him back to bed.

Chenle only let go of Taeyong's hand so he could climb onto the bed, with limited success. Kun boosted him up the rest of the way and he scurried over to Taeyong's side of the bed and sat himself down in the middle.

“Lele, I can’t lay down if you’re in my spot,” Taeyong said teasingly as he rounded the bed. He sat down on the edge.

Chenle crawled the rest of the way over towards Taeyong. He carefully stood up and all but wrapped himself around his father's back, giggling happily. Kun slowly climbed into the bed and laid down on his side, smiling fondly Chenle was naturally a clingy toddler, but it seemed like he had barely left Taeyong alone all morning.

Taeyong scooped Chenle into his arms and laid down on the bed, rolling a little so the boy landed in the middle.

Chenle laughed gleefully as he landed against the bed. He twisted himself around to grab onto Kun's shirt to pull him closer. When he was satisfied, he let go and snuggled into Taeyong's side.

Taeyong was hit with a sudden realization. In just a few months time, they could be doing this with another baby in the mix. He could almost picture Chenle in between him and Kun, clinging to them both, while another baby laid cuddled into Taeyong’s chest. It felt bittersweet. Who knew at this point if he would even get that far before it all self destructed again?

Kun watched his boys fondly; Chenle had already settled down and was playing with Taeyong’s shirt, worn out from all the racing. He didn’t miss the look on Taeyong’s face and he knew his fiancé was thinking about something.

Taeyong rubbed Chenle’s back absently. He sometimes regretted not looking to adopt earlier. They had missed so many of Chenle’s milestones.

Chenle sighed quietly and snuggled closer to Taeyong. Kun smiled as he watched the toddler struggle to keep his eyes open. "What are you thinking about, babe?" he asked softly.

"I just wish we had the chance to get to know Lele earlier," Taeyong said softly, "we missed so many things."

Kun hummed in understanding. He sometimes wondered what their lives would have been different had they adopted Chenle earlier. "We did, but I'm still glad we have so much to look forward to," he said softly.

"I know, but it still makes me sad," Taeyong said, "he had no one to celebrate those moments for him."

Kun smiled sadly and smoothed down Chenle's hair. "I know," he agreed softly, "that makes me want to love him that much more." Sometimes he wondered what Chenle's life was like before he came to live with them, but he didn't like to think about that very often.

“Of course,” Taeyong agreed. They would give their son everything he deserved to make up for the two years he had gone without. “It’s just...bittersweet.”

Kun wordlessly reached over to take Taeyong's hand in his own and squeeze gently. "It is," he whispered gently, "try and get some rest, babe. I know you need it."

Taeyong hummed and settled down. Lifting Chenle to lay more on his chest and shoulder, he scooted closer to Kun.

Kun sighed contently. He wasn't particularly tired, but he was content to lay with his boys for hours. Hopefully Taeyong would feel better when he woke up; Kun already felt bad enough that he was sick on his birthday. 

It didn’t take long for Taeyong to fall asleep. When he did, he dreamt about the family that his and Kun’s future might hold. When he woke up a few hours later to Chenle screaming, it was with a heavy heart.


	18. Chapter 18

"Lele, it's okay. Taeyong baba will be here when you get back," Kun said gently, but no amount of coaxing and comforting could get the toddler to calm down. A few days ago the prospect of playing with Jeno for the afternoon was enough to satisfy the toddler, but now that it was here he wanted no part of it. Despite Kun's best efforts, he couldn't stop Chenle from rushing back into their bedroom and scrambling back onto the bed.

Taeyong grunted when the crying boy all but threw himself on his chest. He let Chenle cling to his neck and carefully stood up with him. “Baby, you’re gonna have so much fun with Jeno,” he said as he walked out to where Kun was. “B-But...birthday!” Chenle blubbered.

Kun sighed sadly when Taeyong carried a still wailing Chenle into the living room. He had hoped the toddler wouldn't wake his fiancé up, but it looked like he wasn't so lucky. "Oh, Chenle," he murmured as he walked over to the pair, "do you think we should just let him stay?" He knew they couldn't always give in to Chenle when he cried, but if he was this upset about leaving Taeyong it might just be worth it to keep him home.

“No, he’ll have fun once he’s there,” Taeyong said, shaking his head. He knew that Taeil was planning on taking the boys to some sort of indoor jungle gym, which Chenle would love. “I think he thinks I don’t want him here and that’s why he has to go,” he added, dropping his voice.

Kun felt his chest tighten and he reached his hand up to smooth out Chenle's hair. The boy had stopped crying, but still had a death grip on Taeyong's neck. "I heard Jeno is excited to see you and we can't wait to hear about all the fun you have when you get back," he said soothingly. He wished he could do more to assure the toddler that they would miss him while he was gone, but he was scared of upsetting him further.

“I’m gonna miss you so much while you’re gone,” Taeyong said with an exaggerated pout, “but I know you’re gonna have  _ so _ much fun. A lot more fun than Kun baba and I.”

Chenle stared at Taeyong, still sniffling. "Miss me?" he asked quietly. "Of course, baby, and you'll be back here before you know it," Kun added quietly. "Promise?" Chenle asked nervously.

“We promise,” Taeyong said seriously, “let’s get you ready to go, okay?”

Chenle nodded, but still didn't let go of Taeyong's neck. Kun gently brushed the few remaining tears off of Chenle's cheek, glad that his baby was finally calmed down.

Taeyong carried Chenle to his bedroom so he could change the boy’s shirt, which had gotten all snotty. He cleaned Chenle’s face as well before setting the boy down. “Let’s pick out your pajamas for tonight, Lele,” he said, knowing that the boy loved to help out with chores (for now).

Chenle kept a tight grip on Taeyong's legs when he was put down. "Green," he said, staring up at Taeyong for approval.

Taeyong pulled out Chenle’s green pajamas and tucked them into his backpack. “What about your clothes for tomorrow, baby?” He asked, picking Chenle up again so he could see into the higher drawers.

Chenle peered into the drawer for a few moments until he decided on what he wanted to wear. He held onto Taeyong's shirt tightly with one hand and used the other to point to the clothes he wanted. They didn't quite match, but that was the last thing Chenle was worried about at the moment.

Taeyong packed the clothes that Chenle had picked, along with his toiletries and some extras in case he got dirty. “Do you wanna take a toy with you, Lele?”

"Cars?" he asked, looking at Taeyong. He had loosened his grip slightly, but was still clutching onto his father's shirt.

“Just one,” Taeyong said, somewhat sternly. He didn’t want to risk losing all of Chenle’s cars. That would just mean another meltdown.

Chenle stared wide-eyed at Taeyong for a moment before nodding slowly. "Blue?" he asked slowly, much less excited than before.

Taeyong picked up the blue car and put it in Chenle’s backpack. “There we go!” He said, “all ready!”

Chenle whined quietly and clutched onto Taeyong tightly again. "Don't wanna leave," he mumbled sadly.

“Lele, you’re gonna have so much fun and Kun baba’s gonna pick you up first thing in the morning,” Taeyong reassured Chenle. He hated seeing his baby so worried.

Chenle whined quietly and threw his arms around Taeyong's neck. He snuggled as close as he could and buried his head in his father's neck. "Miss you," he mumbled miserably.

“I’ll miss you too, baby,” Taeyong said, rubbing Chenle’s back gently.

"Lele, Jeno is here!" Kun called cheerily. He hadn't heard anymore crying so he hoped the toddler had calmed down enough to go with Taeil.

Taeyong hooked Chenle's bag over his arm and carried the boy out to the living room. He was wiggling a little now, already eager to see his friend.

"Nono!" Chenle said excitedly when he saw the older boy. He practically squirmed himself out of Taeyong's arms so he could give his friend a hug. When he remembered he had to leave, he turned back around and stared at his fathers with big eyes.

Taeyong passed Chenle's backpack off to Taeil, thanking the older man, then crouched down to Chenle's level. "We'll see you in the morning, okay, baby? And I bet if you're really good, Taeil hyung will let you call us before you go to bed too."

Chenle threw his arms around Taeyong's neck and hug him tightly. "Be good, be good," he promised quickly. Eventually he tore himself away from Taeyong so that he could hug Kun as well. With a few more goodbyes and the promise of seeing Chenle soon, Taeil made his leave with the two toddlers in hand.

The second the door closed, Taeyong turned toward Kun, mid-fist pump. "I fuckin' nailed that one," he said happily. He got Chenle calmed down and out the door with no more tears. Parenting win.

Kun couldn't help but laugh at Taeyong's enthusiasm. "That you did, babe," he said as he wrapped his arms around his fiancé's waist and pulled him closer, "are you feeling better now?"

"A little," Taeyong said, placing his hands on Kun's chest, "the nap helped."

"I'm glad," Kun said with a hum, "but I bet I can make you feel even better." His voice was barely above a whisper and he tightened his grip ever so slightly.

Taeyong leaned up and kissed Kun gently. "Make me dinner first and then we'll see," he requested.

"Deal," Kun agreed easily. He stole another kiss before loosening his grip on Taeyong. Taking his fiancé’s hand in his home, he walked slowly towards the kitchen. "What do you want? And don't say you don't know. It's your birthday, you have to decide."

"I thought my birthday meant you were supposed to surprise me," Taeyong said as he took a seat at the table.

"Don't you worry about that, I have plenty of surprises for you," Kun replied cheekily. He began pulling out pots and pans regardless, already thinking of a few options he could make.

Taeyong smiled softly, content to just watch Kun. He pillowed his head on his arms with a happy sigh.

Not getting an answer meant that Kun had to decide what to make. It wasn't a hard decision considering he made the same thing every year for Taeyong's birthday. "It's weird just being the two of us," he commented after a moment. He had certainly missed having moments alone with Taeyong, but now it felt different without the toddler there.

"It's definitely weird without Lele," Taeyong agreed, "I miss him already." He loved his alone time with Kun, but it was odd to not have his baby nearby.

“Me too, but we’ll see him soon.” Kun said, more to comfort himself than anything. He had almost forgotten what life was like before Chenle and it almost felt too quiet.

It occurred to Taeyong then that he could tell Kun now, but he was still too nervous. He didn't want his fiancé to be hurt if something went wrong again. He would rather suffer alone.

Kun recognized Taeyong's thinking face so he kept quiet, letting a comfortable silence envelop them. After a few minutes, he started humming quietly to himself, almost out of habit, as he bustled around the kitchen.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Kun moving around the kitchen. "What are you making?" he asked.

"Well it is your birthday after all and you're right, I should surprise you," Kun replied teasingly. He knew Taeyong would figure it out within a few minutes, but he couldn't resist staying cryptic.

Taeyong pouted, propping his head up on his hands. "No fair," he whined.

Kun chuckled quietly. "If you come over here, I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner," he enticed. He didn't care whether Taeyong figured it out or not, but he absolutely loved when his fiancé wrapped himself around his back while he cooked.

Taeyong couldn't really argue with that. He got up from the table and shuffled over to Kun, wrapping himself around the younger man's back and propping his chin on Kun's shoulder.

Kun hummed contently. "Hi there, babe," he whispered, "are you having a good birthday so far?" 

"I am," Taeyong said softly. He had never really liked his birthday that much as a kid, because it was usually ignored, but Kun always made a point to make him feel special.

Kun smiled widely. "I'm glad," he said sincerely. No more than fifteen minutes later was dinner ready and he was grabbing plates from the cabinet. "Alright, babe, you gotta let go."

"No, I'm okay," Taeyong mumbled, clinging even tighter. He didn’t want to let go of Kun. He was comfortable.

Kun set the plates down on the counter. "Will you at least let go enough so I can turn around?" he bargained. The food was too hot to eat right away anyway so they still had a few minutes to kill.

Taeyong pouted but loosened his grip a little so Kun could move around a bit more. He was really about to fall asleep again.

Kun turned around carefully and immediately wrapped his arms around Taeyong's waist. He pulled his fiancé back against him and leaned against the counter. "Are you sure you're okay, babe? You've been awfully quiet all day and you're only this clingy when you're really upset about something," he said gently.

"I'm just tired," Taeyong mumbled, pouting slightly as he looked up at Kun.

"Oh, Tae, I believe it," Kun said sadly. As cute as Taeyong was when he pouted, Kun couldn't help but feel horrible that Taeyong wasn't feeling good on his birthday. "I just hope Chenle doesn't catch whatever this is; it's really taking a lot out of you," he added. Kun wasn't worried about himself getting sick, but he was worried about the toddler considering he was constantly all over Taeyong.

"I think he'll be okay," Taeyong bluffed, "he's been around me the entire time and he's been fine."

"That's true," Kun said with a hum, "do you want to try eating a little bit?" He didn't want to force Taeyong if he didn't feel well, but his fiancé had barely eaten anything all day.

"Yeah, a little bit," Taeyong said as he finally pulled away from Kun and sat at the table again.

Kun scooped a small portion of noodles onto Taeyong's plate before filing a plate for himself. He slipped into the seat next to his fiancé, rather than his usual seat across from him.

Taeyong smiled softly and picked up his chopsticks. "This looks amazing, baby, thank you," he said, leaning over to give Kun a peck on the lips.

Kun smiled softly. "Of course. Now eat up; you need it," he said. It hadn't slipped his notice that Taeyong wasn't eating a lot recently.

Taeyong did his best to eat what he could. He still felt nauseous, but he pushed through. Not wanting to upset or disappoint Kun, he ate even while he gagged on the food.

“Tae, don’t push yourself,” Kun said quickly, “it’s okay.” He reached over and gently rubbed his fiancé's shoulders. The last thing he wanted was for Taeyong to get sick because he forced himself to eat. “Do you want to go lay down?”

“No, I’m okay, I can finish it,” Taeyong lied. He was definitely going to throw up very soon, but he didn’t want Kun to worry about him.

“No, babe, you aren’t.” Kun said firmly, “you’re going to make yourself sick if you keep eating.” He stood up from the table and grabbed his empty plate along with Taeyong’s to ensure his fiancé didn’t eat anymore.

“No, Kunnie, don’t throw it out,” Taeyong said, “you worked so hard; I’d feel bad if it went to waste.”

“There’s plenty more to last us tomorrow so it’s okay. Plus wouldn’t it be a waste if you ate it to the point of throwing up?” Kun asked carefully. He wasn’t worried about wasting the food; he just wanted Taeyong to realize it was a bad idea to force himself to keep eating.

“I won’t throw up,” Taeyong said, even as his stomach gurgled dangerously. He had already ruined so much of the day; he didn’t want to ruin the rest.

“How about this; I’ll save this little bit and if you’re feeling better later you can have it then. For now let’s just go lay down,” Kun said. He put the leftovers away and into the fridge and threw the dishes in the sink to take care of later.

Taeyong sighed unhappily. It didn’t seem like he had much of a choice. He stood up and trudged back to the bedroom, waiting for Kun to join him.

Kun sighed sadly and finished cleaning up the kitchen quickly. When he finally crawled into bed, he pressed himself as close as he could to Taeyong. “What hurts, babe? Is it just your stomach?” he asked concernedly.

Taeyong nodded. His eyes were closed and he was wrapped around a pillow. All of his focus was on not throwing up.

Kun brushed the hair out of Taeyong’s face. “Do you want to try taking something?” he asked carefully. He didn’t know if having Taeyong take anti-nausea medicine would make matters better or worse.

Taeyong shook his head, knowing that he’d end up puking if he tried to speak. The nausea medication hadn’t been working this time, and he was hesitant to try it anyway after reading that some nausea meds had been linked to miscarriage.

“Oh, Tae,” Kun murmured sadly, “it’ll be okay soon.” He carefully wrapped a protective arm around his fiancé. More than anything he wished he could do something to help Taeyong feel better faster, but he had nothing. He really hated seeing his fiancé this sick and he hoped whatever bug Taeyong caught was gone soon.

Taeyong felt like crying. He was so sore and so nauseous. Even though he didn’t really mean it, he really wished that this whole ordeal would be over.

Kun rubbed Taeyong’s back gently. He knew that wouldn’t help much, but what else could he do? “Get some rest, babe, I’m right here. Everything’s gonna be okay,” he said soothingly.

Taeyong sighed sadly, wishing he felt better. He hated that he had ruined this day for Kun, even if it was his own birthday. He closed his eyes and waited to fall asleep.

Kun was glad when he finally heard Taeyong's breathing even out. Usually when his boys were napping, he would organize the apartment or catch up on some laundry, but he didn't want to leave his fiancé alone today. Instead, he settled for holding Taeyong gently in his arms, until he woke up.

When Taeyong woke up, he felt much better than he did before. With a groan - he was still sore - he rolled himself over to face Kun.

Kun loosened his hold on Taeyong when he felt his fiancé stir. "Hi, babe. How are you feeling?" he asked softly when the older man turned to face him. 

“Better,” Taeyong mumbled, “still a little sore but not as nauseous anymore.” He was glad that the sickness seemed to have passed for now. Maybe, just maybe, he could get through the entire day without throwing up.

Kun smiled softly. "I'm glad you're feeling better," he said happily. He was relieved knowing that the nap hadn't made Taeyong feel worse. Slowly he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss against Taeyong's lips.

Taeyong smiled into the kiss and turned even more toward Kun so he could deepen it slightly. When he pulled away, he glanced over Kun’s shoulder at the clock. “Did I miss Lele calling?”

Kun shook his head. "No, either Taeil hyung is letting him stay up much past his bedtime or he fell asleep without a problem," he said. He missed the toddler a lot more than he thought he would, but it was a relief to not receive a phone call that his son was having a meltdown because he was scared.

“Hopefully, it’s the latter,” Taeyong said. Chenle would be miserable in the morning if he didn’t get enough sleep.

"I hope so too," Kun murmured, "but I'll go crazy if I worry too much." He would be nervous about Chenle until the toddler was back in his arms, but he wanted to give Taeyong the attention he deserved.

“Could text Taeil hyung to be sure,” Taeyong said, knowing he wouldn’t have peace of mind until he was sure that his baby was okay.

Kun nodded and rolled over so he could grab his phone off of the nightstand. He typed a quick message to Taeil, asking how Chenle was and if he went to sleep okay. After he pressed send, he placed his phone back down and settled comfortably on his back to wait for a reply.

Taeyong shifted to lay tucked into Kun’s side. His hand rested on his fiancé’s chest, fingers drumming lightly as he waited.

Kun wrapped an arm around Taeyong, holding him against his side securely. With his other hand, he gently tipped his fiancé’s chin up so he could kiss him again. There were really only a few good ways to kill the time while they waited for Taeil to respond.

Taeyong kissed Kun back happily. He could feel the nausea starting to edge back in, but he ignored it.

Kun smiled into the kiss and only broke away when his phone buzzed a few minutes later. He sighed contently and blindly felt around the nightstand until he snagged what he was looking for. "Taeil hyung says that Chenle was fine the whole day and feel asleep about an hour ago with no problems," Kun said as he read the message.

“That’s great,” Taeyong said suddenly feeling very queasy. He carefully sat up and felt his stomach turn unhappily. “I’m gonna go throw up if that’s okay.”

"Oh, Tae," Kun said worriedly. He quickly sat up, careful not to jostle Taeyong further and helped his fiancé stand up. He deserted his phone somewhere in the middle of the bed and supported Taeyong down the hallway.

Taeyong brought a hand up to cover his mouth just in case. The second they got to the bathroom, he was throwing up violently into the toilet.

There wasn't anything Kun could do other than rub Taeyong's back soothingly and he felt horrible. This felt oddly familiar, but Kun pushed the thoughts from his head and focused on taking care of Taeyong instead.

Taeyong coughed as he finished throwing up. He spit into the bowl one last time before reaching up to flush.

Kun grabbed a washcloth from under the vanity and wet it in the sink. "Do you feel like you're going to throw up again or are you okay to sit on the toilet seat?" he asked as he rang the excess water out of the washcloth. He was barely paying attention to watch he was doing because he had his eye trained nervously on Taeyong.

“I-I think I’m okay,” Taeyong mumbled. He slumped back to sit on his butt.

Kun sighed sadly and dropped the washcloth into the sink. "Come here," he said gently. He closed the toilet seat and carefully helped Taeyong to his feet so he could sit back down. Keeping a steady hand on his fiancé's arm, he reached back over for the washcloth and gently wiped down Taeyong's face.

Taeyong sighed sadly as Kun wiped down his face. "Thanks, baby," he said miserably. He wished this whole sickness thing would pass already.

"Of course. I'm sorry you're so sick on your birthday," Kun mumbled quietly. He tossed the washcloth back into the sink to grab a dry towel for Taeyong. After wiping the excess water from his fiancé's face, he grabbed Taeyong's toothbrush from its holder. He debated helping Taeyong stand, but quickly decided against it and just handed over the toothbrush instead.

Taeyong kept one hand on the counter as he lazily brushed his teeth. He felt bad that Kun was apologizing. The younger man didn't even know that it was technically his fault.

Kun kept a steady arm on Taeyong, making sure he didn't waver on his feet. "Are you okay to go lay back down or do you want to wait a few minutes?" he asked gently.

Taeyong paused for a moment. Now that he actually had thrown up, most of the nausea was gone. "I think I'm okay," he said softly.

"Alright, let's get you to bed," Kun said. He kept his arm around Taeyong's waist and carefully walked them back into the bedroom. When they laid down, Kun pulled his fiancé’s into his arms and kissed his forehead gently. "This will all be over soon and you'll feel better in no time," he whispered soothingly.

Maybe it was because Taeyong was so physically exhausted, maybe it was because he had already been thinking about it, but Kun's comment set him on the brink of tears. He didn't want this to be over soon. He'd take throwing up constantly if it meant that his baby would be safe and healthy.

Kun frowned when he saw Taeyong's hurt expression. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he said quickly, "I know you don't feel good, babe, but try not to get all worked up. Get a little more rest and we'll take it little by little, okay?"

Taeyong decided not to answer. Instead, he closed his eyes with a sigh and buried his face in Kun's chest.

Kun rubbed Taeyong's back slowly. He didn't want to risk upsetting his fiancé anymore so he resorted to humming quietly, hoping that would lull Taeyong back to sleep.

Taeyong sighed. He wished he could tell Kun what was wrong, but he was still too scared.

"Stop thinking, babe," Kun said after a few minutes when Taeyong still wasn't asleep, "you're only going to make yourself feel worse." He wished more than anything that he could take away what was bothering Taeyong, but all he could do instead was hold him close and try to comfort him.

"I love you," Taeyong mumbled. He hoped Kun knew that, no matter what.

"I love you too, Tae," Kun said sincerely, "I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could make you feel better." He knew Taeyong knew this, but he had to say it anyway.

"I wish I knew too," Taeyong lied, "but you make it better just by being here." There was nothing that made him feel better than his fiancé.

Kun smiled softly. "I'll lay here with you as long as it takes," he whispered. He tilted his head to place another kiss on the top of Taeyong's head before settling more comfortably in bed.

Taeyong smiled softly as he laid against Kun. Slowly, he fell asleep.

Kun was glad that Taeyong was finally getting more rest. It was late enough that he hoped his fiancé would sleep through the night. He knew that wouldn't work for him so he kept himself awake by focusing on running his fingers through Taeyong's hair. He smiled as he remembered the vibrant colors he used to dye it when they were younger.

Taeyong smiled sleepily as he felt Kun's fingers running through his hair. After this was over, he would definitely dye it again. Chenle would love that.

Kun played with Taeyong's hair until he was too tired to keep his eyes open any longer. He let them slowly closed and hoped more than anything that his fiancé would be feeling better in the morning.

When Taeyong woke up next, the sun was streaming through the curtains and Kun was still asleep next to him. With a groan, he shut his eyes again.

Kun had no idea what time it was when he finally woke up, but their room was relatively bright. He was glad that Taeyong was still in the same spot wrapped in his arms, which meant his fiancé hadn't gotten up in the middle of the night at all. Hopefully that meant that whatever was affecting Taeyong was finally letting up, but Kun didn't want to get too hopeful too quickly.

Taeyong blinked his eyes open again to glance at the clock. "Gotta go get Lele soon," he mumbled to Kun, knowing that his fiancé was awake from how his arms had tightened around him.

"Yeah, I'll get up in a few minutes. You can stay here and get some more rest. I'm sure Chenle will be all over you the minute he gets home," Kun said. He was much too comfortable to even think about getting up yet, but he missed Chenle enough that that wouldn't be a problem in a little while.

Taeyong hummed. As much fun as Chenle was probably having with Jeno, he knew that the boy was probably itching to come home.

As promised, Kun reluctantly dragged himself out of bed a few moments later. He kissed Taeyong gently before disappearing into the bathroom to get ready. "Do you need anything while I'm out?" he asked when he poked his head back into the bedroom.

Taeyong smiled softly and shook his head. "Give Lele a kiss for me," he mumbled.

"I will, but prepare yourself to get a million in return when he gets back here," Kun said. He took one last worried look at Taeyong before finally leaving the doorway and heading into the living room to grab his keys.

"Of course," Taeyong mumbled, already falling back asleep. He couldn't wait for his baby to get home.

Kun wasn't surprised when Chenle all but tackled him the moment Taeil opened the door. He immediately scooped his son up and enveloped him in a big hug. "Did you have fun playing with Jeno, baby?" he asked. Chenle nodded eagerly and immediately dropped his head onto Kun's shoulder so he could snuggle as close as possible. He talked with Taeil for a few minutes, and was happy to hear that Chenle was fine once they left. After thanking the older man profusely and saying goodbye at least five times to Jeno, the pair finally set out for home.

Taeyong woke up to Chenle jumping on him with a shout. "Hi, baby," he groaned, wrapping the wiggling boy in his arms tightly, "did you have fun last night?"

Kun chuckled fondly, glad that Taeyong had gotten the same greeting he had. He walked across the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. "Missed you!" Chenle said, completely ignoring Taeyong's question. He snuggled as close as he could and sighed contently.

"Aw, I missed you too, baby," Taeyong said, voice still slurred with sleep. He kept Chenle trapped in his arms, having felt a little lost without his son nearby for the last few hours.

Kun watched his boys for a few moments before quietly making his leave from the room. He knew that Chenle would be content to stay with Taeyong for a while, which meant that he could clean the bathroom and start cooking. Chenle was more than happy to be wrapped up in Taeyong's arms. He had been scared that this would never happen again so he was taking full advantage of it.

Taeyong sighed happily as he finally got Chenle to settle down a bit. "What did you get to do with Jeno?" he asked, brushing the boy's hair back.

"Race and park and airplanes and puppy," Chenle rambled before gasping dramatically. He had nearly forgotten what he wanted to ask when he got home. "Baba, puppy?" he asked with a pleading pout as he looked up at Taeyong.

"Puppy?" Taeyong asked, eyebrows knitting, "I don't think we have space for a puppy right now, Lele."

"Please, baba," Chenle begged. He had so much fun playing with Jeno's puppy and he couldn't understand how they didn't have enough room; a puppy wasn't that big and could easily fit in their apartment.

"Lele, a puppy needs a yard to play in, and we don't have that right now," Taeyong explained. It was difficult to them to get Chenle to and from the park sometimes, he couldn't imagine a puppy on top of that.

Chenle frowned, but immediately gave up. He nestled further into Taeyong's arms and gripped onto his shirt tightly. He didn't want to get in trouble for sulking so he hid his face in his father's neck.

Taeyong sighed sadly. He never liked to see Chenle sad but they really could not handle a puppy at the moment. "You can try to ask Kun baba," he suggested, not feeling a single ounce of guilt for pushing the issue off to his fiancé.

Chenle perked up at that, and sat up. "Ask now?" he asked hopefully. Maybe Kun baba would say yes and then he could have his very own puppy to play with.

"Sure, sure," Taeyong said agreeably, "you can go ask him now. I think he's in the kitchen."

Chenle beamed widely and with a little bit of squeezing and a lot of wiggling, he managed to free himself from Taeyong's arms. He scrambled to the edge of the bed and climbed down a little too eagerly. He didn't quite land on his feet and ended up toppling to the floor. Kun heard the thud from the kitchen and quickly clicked off the stove and rushed into the bedroom.

"Baba!" Chenle said happily as he popped right back up, "want a puppy!" Taeyong rolled on his side with an amused expression to see what Kun would do.

Kun's relief didn't last very long once he registered what Chenle had said. He shot a "what have you done" look at Taeyong before scooping Chenle into his arms. "A puppy? And what exactly do you want to do with a puppy?" he asked, humoring his son. There was no way they could get a puppy now, but he couldn't bring himself to flat out say no.

"Play!" Chenle said, like it should have been obvious. What else did Kun baba think a puppy was for?

Kun smiled softly. "And are you going to take care of the puppy too? They'll need to be fed, and walked, and brushed," he said. He knew Chenle was too young to understand responsibilities, but if he at least realized a puppy wasn't entirely for fun he hopefully won't be as disappointed.

Chenle pouted. He could do all those things! Kun baba and Taeyong baba did those things for him. He could definitely do them for a puppy. Jeno did it all the time! "I can do!"

"You’re too little to do all those things right now, baby," Kun said gently, "when you get to be a bit older we can talk about getting a puppy, okay?" He hoped that the toddler's forgetful nature would mean that he would quickly forget about wanting a puppy, but Kun had a feeling he wouldn't be so lucky.

Chenle couldn't have a puppy? But Jeno said all he had to do was ask nicely! And he had, or as nicely as he knew how. "But...want one," he said sadly.

"I know, baby, I know," Kun said, holding Chenle closer, "we can't get one now, but I promise we'll get a puppy one day." That was a promise he intended on keeping; he just didn't know how long he would have to wait to fulfill it. "Do you want to help me finish cooking?"

Chenle nodded, still pouting sadly. It was easier for him to sulk and be sad around Kun baba than around Taeyong baba.

Kun hated seeing Chenle so upset, but there was nothing more he could do. He whisked the toddler out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to distract him with cooking. Hopefully, Taeyong would be able to sleep the bug off and come join them when he felt better later.


	19. Chapter 19

A few more weeks had passed and Taeyong was only getting sicker. He was better at hiding it this time though, using makeup to hide the paleness of his cheeks and making sure to time his waking up between Kun's departure and Chenle's waking. By the time he reached the middle of July and what he predicted was ten weeks, no one was any the wiser.

Kun started keeping his concerns to himself. He didn’t like doing that because he felt like he was ignoring Taeyong, but what else could he do? His fiancé obviously didn’t want to tell him what was going on and there was nothing Kun could do. He was almost relieved that he had work to do one night because it would keep him distracted. “Hey, babe, can I borrow your laptop tonight to finish up some reports?” he asked.

Taeyong glanced up at Kun's question. "Uh, yeah, sure, give me a few minutes to finish up my thoughts, okay?" He had actually been on a really good roll with his writing recently, despite everything. Saving his page, he went into his internet and made sure to clear out his history and cookies before passing the laptop over.

“Thank you,” Kun said. He was glad Chenle was already down for the night so that he wouldn’t have to worry about the toddler needing anything. “Let me know if you need it back. I’m not sure how long this will take,” he said as he started typing. Reports could take him anywhere from forty minutes to an hour and he had two to finish by tomorrow.

“I’m gonna go change,” Taeyong said, yawning as he got up. He went to their bedroom and pulled on a baggy sweatshirt and some sweatpants.

Kun nodded absently and continued working. He had to do a double take when Taeyong walked back into the room. “How are you in such heavy clothes?” he asked incredulously, “it’s the middle of July!” Even though it was late in the evening, Kun was still plenty warm in his shorts and t-shirt.

“The AC is really cold,” Taeyong mumbled, curling up on the couch next to Kun, “I’m fucking freezing.”

“The AC is the same temp we always keep it,” Kun said slowly, “are you feeling okay?” He reached over and laid his hand against Taeyong’s forehead, but he wasn’t any warmer than usual. “What do you want me to change the AC to?” he asked as he went to stand up.

“No, I’m warm now,” Taeyong said, shaking his head, “if you’re hot, then leave it on. I’m okay.” In truth, he was edging toward hot too, but he didn’t feel comfortable wearing tight clothes anymore. There was still a few more weeks before he would start to show, but he still felt too bloated, too obvious.

“Alright,” Kun said slowly. He sat back on the couch and focused on finishing up his first report. His mind was running a mile a minute trying to figure out what could be wrong with Taeyong and he had to keep forcing his attention back on the laptop in front of him.

It wasn’t long before Taeyong fell asleep, his headed pillowed on Kun’s thigh next to his laptop. He slept easily, at least.

Kun smiled fondly and ran his fingers through Taeyong’s soft hair for a few minutes before turning back to the laptop. Within the next couple hours his reports were done and he closed the laptop and put it to the side. He felt bad bothering Taeyong, but he didn’t want his fiancé to get cramped laying on the couch. “Come on, babe, let’s get to bed,” Kun said quietly as he gently shook Taeyong awake.

Taeyong groaned and stretched, cracking his eyes open. “‘M comfy,” he mumbled, settling down again.

Kun chuckled. “You’re not gonna be this comfy in the morning when your back is sore,” he said gently. He carefully guided Taeyong to sit up. He debated carrying his fiancé to bed, but he wasn’t sure if that would be a good idea.

Taeyong blinked sleepily as Kun made him sit up and lifted his arms for his fiancé to help him up. “‘M so tired lately,” he mumbled, pulling one arm back to rub his eye, “sorry.”

“Please stop apologizing. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for,” Kun said gently. He guided Taeyong to his feet and let his fiancé lean against him. Slowly they meandered down the hallway and into their bedroom. He was concerned about Taeyong being so tired lately but every time he offered to take a day off, his fiancé vehemently refused. Maybe he would stay home one day without telling Taeyong.

“Just don’t want you to be mad at me,” Taeyong mumbled as he rolled into bed. He wasn’t really apologizing for his fatigue, but he couldn’t tell Kun that.

“I would never be mad at you,” Kun said sincerely, “I just want to help you feel better.” He climbed into bed next to Taeyong and opened his arms like he did every night.

Taeyong rolled over, laying with his back against Kun’s chest. “Spoon me,” he mumbled, hugging a spare pillow to his chest.

“Happily,” Kun murmured with a soft smile. He wrapped an arm around Taeyong’s middle and pulled his fiancé the rest of the way back against him. “I love you,” he mumbled into Taeyong’s hair. Soon enough Kun happily drifted off to sleep, his worries melting away.

By the end of August, Taeyong could definitely tell that he was showing. He could see an obvious protrusion in the mirror when he stood sideways and had started wearing even more baggy clothing. He was still avoiding going to the doctor, not wanting to face any more devastating news, and had been following prenatal care tips online.

Kun continued to keep his mouth shut despite how badly he wanted to say something. Taeyong was still wearing baggy clothing and Kun had learned to not even bother asking because he knew he would never get a straight answer. He started focusing more of his energy on Chenle and even on work. It stung knowing that Taeyong was obviously hiding something from him and what made it harder was that Kun had his suspicions as to what was going on. He really wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without demanding to hear the truth from Taeyong himself.

At roughly seventeen weeks, Taeyong wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it hidden from Kun. Hypothetically, he would stay mum until he had a healthy baby in hand, but he knew that simply wasn’t realistic. Hopefully, he could make it the next few weeks without a problem, just enough to make sure he was fully out of the danger zone.

Kun was incredibly distracted throughout the next few weeks and he could barely get what he needed to do at work done. His mind was constantly on Taeyong and he was absolutely worried sick. It felt like no matter what he was doing, Taeyong was on his mind, including driving. One day on his way home from work and he was stopped at a red light. Not surprisingly the only thing Kun was thinking about was Taeyong. When the light turned green he automatically drove off, not noticing the car that had run the red light until it slammed into the passenger side of his car.

It was the worst phone call of Taeyong’s life. To find out that his fiancé had been in a car accident and transported to the hospital made his heart drop into his feet. The worst part, of course, was Chenle. Ten was at work and Johnny and Yuta were both out of town, which meant Taeyong was stuck taking the unruly toddler to the hospital with him. Since he and Kun only had the one vehicle between them, he was forced to ride the bus, fidgeting nervously the entire time.

Kun blinked his eyes open slowly and immediately closed them again as a sharp pain radiated through his head. He had no idea where he was or how he even got there. The only thing Kun could tell was that there was a bandage over his forehead. “Taeyong?” he called weakly, but his fiancé didn’t answer.

Taeyong could tell that Chenle was scared when they got to the hospital. The boy had never been somewhere with so much yelling and rushing and flashing lights. The nurses wouldn’t let him into Kun’s room right away, instead making him wait until the younger man was fully patched up and in a room, which only made Taeyong more anxious. How injured was his fiancé?

Kun wasn’t really aware of what was going on around him. When he was finally able to open his eyes there were several nurses leaning over him. They asked him if he remembered anything and the only thing he knew was that he was on his way home from work and his head was pounding. The nurses explained that he had a minor concussion and needed stitches for the gash in his forehead. Kun didn’t pay much attention to what they were telling him; the only thing he was worried about was seeing Taeyong.

After what seemed like an eternity, a nurse finally came to collect Taeyong and Chenle. When Taeyong first saw his fiancé laying in the hospital bed with a gaudy bandage over head, he nearly cried. Either tears of relief or fear, he wasn’t quite sure.

Kun tried to sit up when he saw Taeyong, but he didn’t get very far before another wave of pain surged through his head. He sat back with a groan and closed his eyes again. He didn’t even notice that Taeyong was carrying Chenle with him until he heard a small voice whimper a nervous “baba.”

“Be gentle, Lele, okay?” Taeyong said quietly. He set the boy in the bed next to Kun, letting him lay down with his baba. If he hadn’t, they would’ve been in full meltdown status pretty quickly.

Kun braved opening his eyes when he felt a weight next to him. He mustered a small smile and wrapped his arm around Chenle. “Baba, hurt?” the toddler asked carefully snuggling closer. Kun’s heart clenched when he heard how scared his baby was. “I’ll be all better soon, Lele, I promise,” he answered quietly.

“Kunnie, what happened?” Taeyong asked as he carefully sat in the chair next to the bed and reached for his fiancé’s hand. “All they told me is that you were in an accident.”

Kun frowned as he tried to remember what happened. “I...I was driving home and I stopped at a red light and when it turned green I drove off and the next thing I know I was here,” he mumbled, “I didn’t see anyone else.” He trailed off; he didn’t want to admit he was distracted, it would only make Taeyong more upset.

“The nurse said you have a concussion so it’s okay if you don’t remember,” Taeyong said gently, “I’m just glad that you’re okay.”

Kun nodded, which he quickly realized was a horrible idea. He hissed quietly at the pain and tipped his head back. “Baba,” Chenle whined. “I’m okay, Lele,” he said weakly. It wasn’t as reassuring as he wanted, but it was all he could muster. “I just want to go home,” Kun mumbled after a minute.

“Careful, babe, just stay still,” Taeyong said. He wanted to reach out and smooth the hair off of Kun’s forehead, but he didn’t want to hurt his fiancé in the process. “I’ve barely spoken to anyone but if you’re in this much pain, they might keep you overnight,” he said worriedly.

“No, I don’t need to stay overnight. I’m fine,” Kun said quickly. He forced his eyes open and squeezed Taeyong’s hand. He knew it was ridiculous to think they would let him go home tonight, but he couldn’t take much more of laying in the hospital bed.

“Kunnie, you have a traumatic brain injury,” Taeyong said gently, “I already called your boss and told them you won’t be in for a while. You need to relax and get better, okay? Lele and I will be fine.”

Kun sighed sadly; Taeyong was right. There was absolutely nothing he could do, but sit back and hope he got better quickly. He felt so helpless on top of not knowing what was wrong with Taeyong.

Visiting hours were up much earlier than Taeyong would have liked. The doctors had decided to keep Kun overnight just to keep an eye on him. Chenle was nodding off to sleep but started crying when Taeyong gently lifted him off of Kun’s bed. “Shh, baby, it’s okay,” Taeyong whispered, “you’ll see baba in the morning.”

“Oh, Lele, it’s okay,” Kun murmured. His heart shattered; he hated seeing his baby so upset. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning,” he said, “be careful.” He was slowly remembering all the reasons he was worried and their car being destroyed was just another thing to add to the list.

Taeyong paced around the room, bouncing Chenle gently and rubbing his back until he calmed down. “I’m gonna call the insurance company first thing tomorrow and then we’ll be here as soon as we’re allowed,” he said quietly, trying to rock the toddler in his arms to sleep.

Kun smiled softly. “I’m not going anywhere so don’t rush,” he said. He was glad Chenle was calming down; he couldn’t imagine how overwhelmed the toddler must be.

Taeyong and Chenle left shortly after that, taking a cab back to their apartment. Chenle was still upset, so Taeyong let the boy sleep in bed with him that night. When morning came, he got up early and called the insurance company, getting everything sorted out to get a new car, then carried a still sleeping Chenle on the bus to go see Kun.

Kun had barely slept the night before and he was certainly feeling it now. Between being worried about Taeyong and his pounding headache, he didn't do much more than doze for a couple of hours. He just wanted to go home and he had never been more relieved in his life than he was when Taeyong and Chenle finally walked through the door.

Taeyong had miraculously managed to keep Chenle asleep all the way to Kun’s room. Carefully, he laid the boy down next to his fiancé, letting the boy snooze next to his baba.

Kun smiled and held the sleeping toddler close, rubbing his back gently. "How are you doing?" he asked quietly, "I'm sorry I didn't ask yesterday."

“I’m okay,” Taeyong said with a soft smile, “you just worry about getting better, okay?” He didn’t need Kun focusing on him any more than necessary.

"I will," Kun agreed. Not long after the doctor came in to talk to him and to Kun's relief, discharged him with a prescription for painkillers. Soon enough they were on there way home and he wanted nothing more than to lay in bed with his boys.

Chenle had woken up by the time they all went to leave and walked out with his hand tightly in Taeyong’s. The nurse helped them get Kun into a cab and they all rode home. Getting Kun upstairs was a bit of a hassle, since he still wasn’t steady on his feet, but they managed.

Kun was relieved when they got home. He was exhausted, but he felt dirty. There was no way he would be able to stand in the shower so he hoped that after a short nap, he would be feeling up to taking a bath.

Taeyong let Chenle run ahead once they got to the apartment and helped Kun get into bed. “What do you need, baby?” he asked softly.

“For you to come lay with me,” he said with a pleading pout. He knew he would be asleep soon, but he wanted to at least lay with Taeyong for a little bit. Even though it was only one night, he missed having his fiancé in his arms.

“Let me just take care of Lele and get changed then we can lay down, okay?” Taeyong said. He was still in his clothes from the day before and he knew he was starting to smell.

"Okay," Kun mumbled. He rolled himself over as best he could and wrapped himself around a pillow while he waited. Letting out a soft sigh, he let his eyes fall closed, trying to ward off the oncoming headache.

Taeyong grabbed clean clothes out of the dresser and went to change in the bathroom. Once he was in clean clothes, he found Chenle in his room, sitting among his toys but not playing with any. “Do you want to come lay with me and baba?” he asked the boy gently, crouching down to his level. Chenle nodded and wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s neck with a sad pout. He heard the boy sniffle as he carried him to the master bedroom. Chenle picked up his head just before they got there. “Is Kun baba hurt bad?” he asked in a small voice. “Just his head,” Taeyong said, stroking Chenle’s hair, “he’ll get better, but we have to be quiet, okay?”

Kun blinked his eyes open when he heard the door open to the bed room. He moved the pillow under his head and waited for his boys to lay down. His small smile faltered when he saw how upset Chenle look. “Oh, Lele, come here,” he murmured, reaching out for the toddler, “I’m okay.”

Taeyong carefully set Chenle on the bed next to Kun before sitting down himself. “Here, Lele, you can lay between,” he said softly, laying down and patting the space. Chenle laid down, incredibly careful for a two year old, and snuggled up to Kun.

Kun wrapped an arm around Chenle and pulled his son close. He placed a gentle kiss on the toddler’s forehead and then looked back up at Taeyong. “I’m sorry. I should have been paying attention. I could have prevented this and we wouldn’t have had to worry about not having a car,” he mumbled sadly.

“No,” Taeyong said firmly, “you were tired and just trying to get home and, more importantly, you had the right of way. You did everything right, Kunnie.” He hated seeing his fiancé blame himself for things that certainly weren’t his fault. “We have good insurance and they’re going to pay for a total car replacement. In the end, we just get a newer, better, safer car. It’s all okay.”

Kun sighed and forced a small smile onto his face. “You’re too good to me,” he mumbled as he let his eyes fall closed. He was glad that the insurance would cover a new car. That was one weight off his shoulder, but the heaviest one was still there: Taeyong.

Taeyong didn’t let himself relax until he was sure Kun and Chenle were both asleep. He was glad his fiancé hadn’t questioned him changing in the bathroom, since he normally had no qualms about being naked. His hands came to rest on his belly. He’d been feeling early flutters all day and was hoping it wasn’t a sign of something bad. With a sigh, he tucked his hands up under a pillow and fell asleep.

Kun had no idea what time it was when he woke up and only knew that his head was pounding. He carefully let Chenle go and rolled out of bed as quickly as he could. Standing too fast caused his head to spin even faster and he had to catch himself on the wall. He could barely see where he was going, but somehow he made it to the kitchen.

Taeyong was in the kitchen doing dishes, unable to sleep for long. His aids were turned up in case Kun or Chenle needed him, but he was distracted. He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep his secret from Kun now that the younger man was going to be home for a while. He heard shuffling footsteps and turned just in time to see his fiancé stumble into the room. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, rushing over, “careful, baby, let’s get you a chair.”

Kun all but collapsed into Taeyong’s arms. “My head,” he mumbled weakly. He hated that he couldn’t even do the simple task of getting his own medicine. He took a hard seat at the table and pillowed his head in his hands, careful to not press too hard on the gash.

Taeyong lowered Kun as gently as he could and grabbed his medicine from the counter. Reading the package carefully, he made sure Kun had one exact dosage and nothing more. He also gave his fiancé a glass of water.

“Thank you,” he murmured appreciatively. He took the pills and chased them with the water. “I feel so useless,” he said after a few minutes. Kun hated how whiny he sounded, but he couldn’t help it.

“You’re _injured_ , Kunnie,” Taeyong said, a little exasperated, “you need to give yourself time to heal. If you’re not useless for at least the next two weeks, I’m gonna be upset.”

“Two weeks? No, no I’ll be fine before then,” Kun replied. At the rate he was going he wasn’t too confident, but he wanted to try and stay positive. It wouldn’t be fair to rely completely on Taeyong for that long.

“No,” Taeyong said stubbornly, “you’re going to take your time and make sure you heal fully. I don’t want you ending up with permanent brain damage or something because you tried to go back to your old routine too soon. Lele needs you in full working order and so do I.”

Kun opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. He had to be fine sooner than two weeks, that was simply too much time to be out of commission, but he didn’t like seeing Taeyong so upset. “Okay, I’ll take the time I need,” Kun said quietly. He looked up at Taeyong and smiled softly.

“Do you want to try eating something?” Taeyong asked, “I can make you some oatmeal or something.”

“Oatmeal sounds great,” Kun mumbled. He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he hadn’t eaten much over the last day or so and he definitely needed some form of nutrition.

Taeyong went over to the stove and took out a small pot. He set the water to boil while measuring out a cup of oats. “Lele will like having you around at least,” he said as he stirred the oats into the bubbling water, trying to stay positive.

Kun smiled softly. “I’m glad I get to spend more time with both of you, but this certainly isn’t how I wanted it to go,” he said. That was the only good thing about the situation was seeing his family more.

Taeyong set the cooked oatmeal in front of his fiancé with a soft smile and sat in the chair next to him. “At least you’re okay,” he said, “that’s what matters.”

Kun nodded slowly. He certainly was lucky. Not knowing if the other person was okay was weighing on his conscience, but he tried not to think of it. “I’m okay,” he reiterated. Kun reached over for Taeyong’s hand. “I love you,” he whispered sincerely.

“I love you too,” Taeyong said softly, squeezing Kun’s hand, “now eat your oatmeal.”

Kun smiled and turned his attention to his food. He ate most of the bowl, but couldn’t quite finish it. “Thanks, babe. I’m gonna go take a bath,” he said, carefully moving to stand up. He would have preferred to help was the dishes first, but he knew Taeyong wouldn’t let him.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Taeyong said, clearing the dishes off the table. He watched worriedly as Kun the left the room before turning back to the sink with a sigh.

“You could always come join me,” Kun called over his shoulder. He shuffled his way into the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub to fill it. Once he was satisfied, Kun slowly undressed himself and carefully lowered himself into the warm water. He sighed contently and leaned back, wondering if Taeyong would actually come or not.

Taeyong wished he could join Kun, but he needed to clean up, and be available in case Chenle woke up, and continue hiding his bump. He decided to at least go sit with his fiancé in the bathroom to keep him company.

Kun opened his eyes and smiled when Taeyong came into the bathroom. He dried his hand quickly on a towel next to him and reached out for his fiancé.

Taeyong sat on the floor next to the tub, pulling his knees up to his chest and reaching for Kun’s hand. “I have to not be naked in case Lele wakes up,” he explained.

“He’ll be fine for a few minutes,” Kun said. They were certainly lucky in the sense that Chenle was a relatively self sufficient toddler. He didn’t have many breakdowns save for the few bad dreams and the fear of Kun and Taeyong leaving him.

Taeyong hummed. “I worry though,” he said quietly. Especially after seeing his baba so hurt. Chenle wouldn’t be happy to wake up all alone.

Kun nodded. He didn’t want to push it so he sank deeper in the water and let his eyes fall closed. His muscles were slowly loosening and Kun was finally able to begin to relax.

Taeyong reached out and started playing with Kun’s hair, twisting it around his fingers. “Don’t fall asleep,” he warned, not wanting his fiancé to drown.

“I won’t,” Kun murmured. He leaned into Taeyong’s hand and hummed happily. If it weren’t for his throbbing head, Kun would be content.

“You have no idea how scared I was,” Taeyong said quietly, “it was the worst feeling of my life.”

Kun frowned as a wave of guilt washed over him. “I’m so sorry, babe,” he whispered, “you don’t need to be scared anymore. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Taeyong hummed and rubbed Kun’s hand. “Just as long as you get better,” he said softly.

“I will,” Kun said confidently. His eyes suddenly flew open and he moved to sit up when he heard whimpering coming from their bedroom.

“Hey, hey, careful,” Taeyong said, grabbing Kun’s shoulder to prevent him from getting up. “I’ll take care of Lele, okay?”

“Okay,” Kun lamented. He sat back again and nervously watched Taeyong leave the room. The water was starting to get cold and he didn’t want to get anymore pruny so he gave himself five more minutes before beginning to drain the water.

Taeyong left the bathroom and went back to the bedroom to collect his son. “Lele, what’s wrong?” He asked, picking the boy up and settling him on his hip.

Chenle sniffled and clung onto Taeyong's shirt tightly. "Kun baba's gone," he whimpered. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck and buried his face in Taeyong's shoulder.

“Oh, baby, it’s okay,” Taeyong said, “he’s just taking a bath. He’ll be back in a few minutes.” He rocked back and forth, trying to calm Chenle down.

Kun couldn't hear exactly what his boys were saying, but judging by their tones, Chenle was very obviously upset. With a groan, Kun forced himself to stand up and carefully stepped out of the bathtub. After drying himself off, he got dressed slowly and then meandered back into the bedroom.

“See, there he is!” Taeyong said when Kun came back into the bedroom, casting a glance toward his fiancé, “see, Lele, he’s okay.”

"I'm okay, baby," Kun repeated as he walked over to the pair. Chenle untucked his head from Taeyong's shoulder and looked Kun over. He reached his small arms out towards Kun, still whimpering. Kun sighed sadly and took the toddler into his arms, letting his son cling to his own shirt.

Taeyong reluctantly let Kun take Chenle. “Sit down at least,” he admonished his fiancé, not wanting either of his boys to get hurt.

Kun immediately sat down on the bed, still holding Chenle close. He rocked back and forth gently, whispering quietly to the toddler until he had calmed down again. "You both need to eat," he said quietly after a moment. To be honest, Kun had no idea what time it was, just that his boys hadn't had a proper meal since they had gotten home.

“Are you hungry, Lele?” Taeyong asked the boy, setting a hand on his shoulder. He wasn’t particularly hungry himself, but he’d cook for Chenle.

Chenle shook his head and clung tighter to Kun’s shirt. Kun sighed sadly and rubbed his son’s back gently. Eventually he laid down and let the toddler fall asleep on his chest. The next few days were slow going, but Kun was feeling much better by the time a week had passed.

Chenle had been clinging to Kun all week, not letting the younger man out of his sight. It at least gave Taeyong an excuse to give them some space and keep to himself. He was growing more and more nervous. He was nearly halfway through now and it was definitely evident. At this point, there was no way to tell Kun without making his fiancé livid.

Kun was glad he was able to spend so much time with Chenle. He certainly missed his baby while he was at work and he knew this would make going back even harder. Despite everything, the hardest part about the last week was that Taeyong was avoiding him as much as possible. Kun knew there had been something going on for a while and he was growing more and more sure of his suspicions with each passing day.

The baby was an early kicker and a strong one. Taeyong couldn’t go a full day without some random limb wedged somewhere it didn’t belong. He was also starting to reach the point where even his loosest clothes didn’t keep him fully concealed anymore. It was a dangerous situation.

Kun had kept a closer eye than usual on Taeyong and he didn’t miss the looks of discomfort that would slip onto his fiancé’s face every so often. Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore and he decided to ask after putting Chenle to bed one night. He waited until Taeyong was already in bed and was careful to shut their door all the way before speaking. “I really didn’t want to do this, but what’s going on? You’ve been acting off for weeks, and brushing me off for even longer. I know you’re hiding something from me. Please, please just tell me,” Kun begged. He knew he sounded desperate and that was exactly how he felt.

“There’s nothing going on,” Taeyong said lightly, doing his best to keep his voice steady. He could tell that this was going to turn into a fight and he already felt guilty.

Kun stared at Taeyong for a moment. He took a deep breath and dropped his eyes to the floor. “Why are you lying to me?” he asked softly, “what could be so bad that you’ve chosen to hide rather than talk to me?” He knew what Taeyong was hiding from him and he wasn’t willing to let it go any longer.

Taeyong knew he couldn’t keep it up anymore. He was tired and scared and he just wanted help. “Because I’m scared,” he admitted quietly.

"Scared of what?” Kun asked desperately, “we’ve been together for six years. What could you be so afraid of that you don’t want to tell me?” He was far from angry, but he knew the hurt was clear in his voice.

“I’m not scared of telling you,” Taeyong said in a small voice, “I’m scared that if I tell you, it’ll be real and something will go wrong.”

“It’ll be real? Tae, please just tell me what’s going on” Kun said gently, “I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.” He sighed softly and took a few steps closer to the bed.

“I didn’t want to hurt you or Lele,” Taeyong said, “I figured if something went wrong, I would be the only one hurting.”

“If something went wrong with what?” Kun asked carefully. The wheels in his head turned slowly and there really was only one thing Taeyong could be talking about.

Taeyong lowered his head, wrapping his arms around his middle protectively. “With the baby,” he whispered.


	20. Chapter 20

Kun stared at Taeyong, his mouth opening and closing as he thought of what to say. Even though this was the answer he was prepared for, it still was hard to wrap his head around the fact that his fiancé had hid this from him. While he certainly wasn’t angry, there was still a lot running through his mind. He felt his chest tighten and he subconsciously took another step forward. “How long?” he asked simply, voice emotionless.

Taeyong took a subconscious half step back. “Twenty weeks,” he said, “roughly.” He wasn’t scared of Kun, per say, but he really didn’t want a confrontation.

Kun’s eyes widened and he continued to stare at his fiancé. Now that he knew for sure everything came rushing back to him from the baggy clothes in the summer to Taeyong being so tired, and Kun was kicking himself for not asking sooner. “What do you mean roughly?” he asked. With the first baby they were able to keep track of the weeks by the day and he couldn’t understand why Taeyong was so unsure this time.

“I...haven’t exactly seen a doctor this time,” Taeyong said quietly, “I’m doing my math based off what I think the conception date most likely is.”

“Oh my God, Tae, we need to get you to a doctor as soon as possible,” Kun said nervously. Any frustrations he had about not knowing were put on the back burner. All he cared about now was making sure his fiancé and his baby were healthy.

“I’ve been taking care of myself,” Taeyong said hurriedly, “I’m just scared that they’re going to tell me something’s wrong.”

Kun sighed sadly and took another small step forward. “It’s okay to be scared, babe, but we have to make sure everything’s okay. You and I both know the only way to do that is going to see a doctor. We don’t have to tell anyone else until you’re ready, but you have to go see someone,” he said gently but firmly.

“Okay,” Taeyong said in a small voice. He wasn’t going to fight with Kun now that the younger man knew. There was no point. They were doing this together now.

“Come here,” Kun said softly. He opened his arms, but didn’t move forward anymore.

Taeyong stepped forward and hugged his fiancé tightly for the first time in weeks. He sagged in relief; he had hated keeping such a big secret from Kun.

Kun sighed softly and wrapped his arms around Taeyong and held him close. His hand came up to gently rub his fiancé’s back. “We’ll take it one day at a time,” he said reassuringly.

It was another week before Taeyong and Kun managed to get to the hospital. After being admonished by the doctor for waiting so long to come in, Taeyong was at least able to find out that both he and the baby were perfectly healthy. When they did a sonogram and heard their baby boy for the first time, he cried.

Kun heaved a sigh of relief when they heard the baby’s heartbeat. He was grateful that both his fiancé and their son were healthy and he was ready to do everything in his power to keep it that way. They left the doctor’s with some extra prenatal vitamins and an appointment for another few weeks. Kun couldn’t stop smiling and he had Taeyong’s hand held tightly in his own the whole ride home.

“I’m not sure about telling Chenle yet,” Taeyong said before they walked into the apartment, “I know we’re healthy and everything but I don’t want to get his hopes up again or make him upset.”

“We’ll tell him when you’re ready, although he’s going to start asking questions soon,” Kun said. Chenle was quite the curious toddler and wasn’t shy about asking any question that came to his mind.

Taeyong nodded. “Tennie’s gonna be able to tell right away and he’s the definition of tactless,” he said worriedly.

“I’ll make sure he keeps quiet,” Kun assured, “he’ll be good about not telling Chenle once I explain everything, but I can’t promise he won’t tackle you in a hug.” The more he thought about it the more unsure he was about how well Ten would keep his mouth closed. “When do you want to tell Johnny?” he asked slowly.

"I don’t know,” Taeyong said quietly. He was worried that Johnny would be upset with him for trying to do everything on his own. “I’m showing quite a bit. Maybe we could do a fancy official announcement with a picture?”

“That would be cute,” Kun said, “I’m sure everyone would love that. What do you want to do about Yuta?” He didn’t want to rush anything, but they couldn’t wait much longer without all the guys finding out on their own.

“We just need to do it soon,” Taeyong said. Now that he knew that the baby was healthy and out of the risky zone, he was more excited to actually share the news.

“Yes, yes,” Kun agreed, “let’s see what Ten does and we’ll take it from there.” He carefully swung the apartment door open and barely stepped in before he heard the familiar footsteps coming down the hallway.

Taeyong’s sweatshirt wasn’t as loose as it had been and he knew his bump was clearly visible. Chenle didn’t seem to notice as he skidded to a stop in front of them and tried to jump in Kun’s arms.

“Hi kiddo,” Kun said, chuckling as he picked Chenle up and spun him around. The toddler squealed in delight and begged for more when Kun stopped. Ten took one look at Taeyong and his face immediately broke out into a big smile. Kun shot him a look and Ten rolled his eyes before walking over to Taeyong. “If you haven’t picked a name yet I hear that ‘Ten’ is a pretty popular choice these days,” he whispered into the older man’s ear when he hugged him.

“Absolutely not,” Taeyong said, rolling his eyes fondly as he hugged Ten back. “You can tell Yuta, but I want Johnny to hear it from me.”

“Hey, hey don’t cross it off the list just yet,” Ten said, feigning seriousness as he stepped back. “Expect a message from Yuta tonight. He’s gonna be excited; he’s been waiting for this for a while,” he added. Kun had whisked Chenle down the hallway and was avidly listening to how his day went.

"I’ll be watching for it,” Taeyong said happily, hugging Ten again. He was definitely excited to grow his family, with another son coming.

“I gotta get going, but let me know if you need absolutely anything. Yuta's pretty busy at work lately, but I’ll still be around,” Ten said, hugging Taeyong back. He knew he wasn’t going to hurt the older man but he was still gentle.

Once Ten had left, Taeyong left to find Kun and Chenle. The more he thought about it, the less he wanted to keep the secret from the toddler.

Kun sat himself in the middle of Chenle’s floor. The toddler had his toys spread across the room and was bouncing between them so fast, Kun could barely keep up. He didn’t realize Taeyong had come into the room until Chenle piped up. “Baba, come play with us!” he said excitedly.

Taeyong carefully sat down on Chenle’s floor, pulling the boy to sit on his thigh. “Hey, Lele,” he asked, “how would you feel about a new baby brother?” He knew they hadn’t planned on telling the boy yet but the question slipped out before he could stop it.

Kun certainly wasn’t expecting Taeyong to tell Chenle so soon so he kept his mouth shut and watched the toddler nervously. Chenle looked up at Taeyong curiously. “Baby brother?” he considered for a moment, “to play with?”

“Well, not right away, but yeah,” Taeyong said, “you can play with him.” He was hoping Chenle would keep the same attitude from last time and be excited.

“Have to leave too?” Chenle asked nervously. Kun’s heart sank; he had hoped the toddler wouldn’t remember for his sake, but it looked like that wasn’t the case.

Taeyong hesitated. Even though the baby was out of the danger zone, Taeyong still couldn’t make the promise that something wouldn’t happen. “Lele, sometimes things happen that we can’t control,” he said slowly, “I can’t promise that the baby won’t still leave, but I can promise that he’s healthier than the last baby.” He glances at Kun, hoping for a translation.

Kun sighed softly and translated what Taeyong had said. Chenle’s face fell and Kun waited nervously for the toddler’s reaction. “Lele want him to stay,” Chenle said after a minute, “want brother.”

“We’re going to do our best,” Taeyong said gently, “that’s all I can promise you.”

Chenle nodded and looked up at Taeyong. “Play with me ‘til brother?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course, baby,” Taeyong said with a smile, “I’ll always play with you.”

Chenle smiled widely and scooted closer to hug Taeyong, but pouted when he realized he suddenly couldn’t quite reach. Kun couldn’t help but chuckle at the toddler’s confusion.

Taeyong smiled brightly and pulled off his sweatshirt, leaving himself in a loose fitting tee shirt. “This is where the baby is, Lele,” he said, rubbing his belly gently.

Chenle’s eyes widened in wonder and he slowly reached out to lay a hand on Taeyong’s belly. He giggled and scooted a little bit closer. “Hi baby,” Chene said chipperly, “can’t wait to play.” Kun smiled fondly and moved a little closer to his boys.

Taeyong smiled softly and lifted his shirt so Chenle could put his hand right on his skin. “If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll feel him move,” he said.

It was Kun’s turn to be amazed. “He’s moving already?” he asked quietly. Chenle eagerly put both hands on Taeyong’s stomach and waited patiently for something to happen.

“Yeah, he’s an early bloomer,” Taeyong said, passing his hands over the area to try and figure out where exactly the baby was. “Not a ton, but.”

Chenle frowned when nothing happened. “Hey, baby, wake up,” he said, patting Taeyong’s belly. “Lele, be gentle,” Kun warned. He knew there was no way Chenle could hurt the baby, but he was still a little nervous.

Taeyong took Chenle’s hand and moved it over to where he thought the baby’s foot might be. It took a moment but then he felt it; the smallest of kicks.

Chenle gasped when he felt the baby’s foot hit his hand. He clapped excitedly and reached over to grab Kun’s hand. “Baba, you feel,” he said as he guided Kun’s hand to rest on Taeyong’s stomach. Kun smiled and shifted closer again so he could reach comfortably.

It took a few moments but the baby kicked again in the same spot. It was as if he knew they were there and was letting them know that he was there too.

Kun’s smile widened and he stared at his hand. It was finally hitting him that they were having a baby. He moved his hand away so Chenle could put his back. “Does it hurt?” he asked concernedly, looking back up at Taeyong.

“Not those,” Taeyong said, shaking his head, “it kinda just feels like someone’s poking me from inside. It’s when he kicks my organs that it hurts. He was whaling on my kidney for like half an hour the other day.”

Kun frowned. He knew there was nothing he could do, but he still felt bad. “I’m sorry, babe,” he mumbled. Chenle was in his own little world, content to already be playing with his baby brother.

“It’s okay,” Taeyong said, “I get worried if he doesn’t kick me a bit, actually.” He was so scared that his baby would just suddenly stop moving one day and never start again.

Kun nodded in understanding. He sat back and watched Chenle for a few more minutes before regretfully pulling himself to his feet. “I’m going to put together some lunch for us. Do you need anything first?” Kun asked.

“Nope, we’re all okay,” Taeyong said. He painstakingly got to his feet and lifted Chenle up with him. “Let’s go to the couch, baby, it’s more comfy there.”

“Careful, babe,” Kun said, reaching out to help Taeyong. He walked his boys to the couch before disappearing into the kitchen with one last look over his shoulder.

Taeyong carried Chenle over to the couch and laid down. He let the toddler sit on his hips and continue trying to find his baby brother. After a while, the boy got tired and simply laid down, tucked along Taeyong with a hand still on his belly.

Kun spent the next week showering his boys in attention from the moment he got home from work until the moment they all went to bed. Luckily the week flew by and next thing Kun knew it was Saturday. They were finally ready to tell everyone and he was excited for their reactions. “Do you want to tell my parents?” Kun asked. He wouldn’t be upset if Taeyong wanted to keep this to just them, but he knew they wouldn’t be able to hide the baby if they went back.

“We might as well,” Taeyong said with a shrug. It couldn’t hurt. They were in China, after all, not nearly close enough to make any demands. “Should I tell mine?” he asked hesitantly. He wasn’t on speaking terms with them really, but Mark had repaired his relationship with them, so Taeyong did have their info. He knew they would find out either way.

Kun paused. He didn’t know Taeyong’s parents at all and he was worried that this could only worsen their relationship. “We can,” Kun said slowly, “or you can let Mark tell them. I’ll support whatever you are more comfortable with.”

Taeyong mulled it over and ultimately decided that he didn’t want them near his children at all. “Mark can tell them if he wants but I want nothing to do with them,” he said decisively.

“Okay. Let’s focus on getting the announcements out; everyone’s going to be so excited,” Kun said, changing the subject. He felt bad that Taeyong wasn’t close enough with his parents to tell them, but he was glad they wouldn’t have an opportunity to get involved with the boys.

“These pictures are all so cute, I don’t know which one to choose,” Taeyong stressed. He really liked the picture that Kun had sniped of him and Chenle asleep on the couch with Chenle cuddling his bare belly, but he also loved a number of the more professional shots they’d had done.

Kun smiled fondly and flipped through the pictures again. “Can we pick two?” he asked. It was nearly impossible to only pick one out of the seemingly hundreds of pictures. He was impartial to the one he took of the boys, but he figured Taeyong would probably want one of the three of them.

Taeyong clicked around on the website they were using to design the announcement. “It’s a little more expensive to do multiple photos but it’s not unaffordable,” he said, “why don’t we do three? The one of me and Lele, one of me and you, and one of all three of us?”

“That sounds perfect,” Kun agreed. He was so excited about everything and this just added to it. It was hard to focus on picking pictures with everything on his mind, but he did his best to help.

Taeyong laughed to himself as he went through the photos, remembering how much Chenle had enjoyed getting to be a model. “What about this one?” He held up a photo of the three of them. Taeyong was laying on his back, head in Kun’s lap, as Chenle made a mess of his belly with skin safe finger paints.

Kun smiled and took the picture gently so he could get a closer look. He felt his heart swell as he stared at the picture of his family. Chenle was overjoyed to be finger painting Taeyong and they all looked so happy. “I love this one,” he breathed.

Taeyong put the photo on top of the one of him and Chenle. Now they just needed a picture of the two of them. It was proving hard to find. Given how obsessed they were with Chenle, most of the pictures included him.

“I like this one,” Kun said, pulling out a picture of just them sitting together. Taeyong’s legs were draped across Kun’s lap while one of Kun’s hands was gently resting on Taeyong’s stomach. They were looking at each other and smiling and Kun didn’t think he could ever be more in love with his fiancé then he was right now.

Taeyong smiled as he looked at the picture. “It’s perfect,” he said, “Let’s scan these in so we can finish the card.”

Kun scanned the three pictures they chose for Taeyong. While his fiancé was finishing up the card, he was slowly cleaning up the pictures, taking his time looking at each and every one.

Taeyong put the pictures into the spots in the template and admired his handiwork. They had already put in all the text. Satisfied, he moved onto the next step: inserting the list of people they wanted to send the announcement too. The company would do it for them.

Kun sat back down next to Tayeong and watched as he added all of their friends. “Can we send one to Jun?” Kun asked slowly, “I think he’d be really excited.”

“Of course,” Taeyong said with a smile, “I just need his address.”

Kun smiled widely and pulled out his phone. After scrolling through his messages for a while, he found what he was looking for and rattled off the address. He gave Taeyong his parents’ address as well and sat back to look over the list again.

Taeyong added both to the list, and looked back up at Kun. “What about Minghao?”

Kun paused and knitted his fingers together nervously. “I...I don’t know. It wouldn’t hurt, but I’m not sure if he would even care,” he said quietly. He hadn’t talked to Minghao since their visit home and he hadn’t tried to.

Taeyong hummed. “Will he be upset if he finds out through Jun and not through you?”

“He might,” Kun said with a soft sigh, “I’ll text Jun and get his address. Worst case scenario, he’ll ignore it, but I’d rather that than him getting upset.” Kun sent off a quick text to Jun and turned back to look over the card one more time.

Taeyong nodded and put Minghao’s name into the list, leaving the address blank for the time being. “Should we get them to rush it?” he asked, “I don’t know how much longer I can go without telling Johnny.”

“Sure,” Kun said, smiling widely, “you know he’s going to be knocking the door down to see you the minute he has the card in his hands.” Of all of their friends, Kun had to admit he was most excited for Johnny’s reaction.

“Oh, of course,” Taeyong said with a smile, “he’s gonna be so happy when he finds out.” He could already imagine Johnny’s reaction.

Kun was surprised that Jun got back to him so quickly. He was a little suspicious but Kun easily dodged his questions and thanked him for the address. After receiving in Minghao’s address, he sat back. “I think we’re good to go,” he said happily.

Taeyong input Minghao’s address and read through the list again. “I think that’s it,” he agreed, “let’s send this in.”

Kun reached over and put his hand over Taeyong’s so they could click the send button together. When the confirmation popped up, Kun smiled widely and leaned over to kiss his fiancé softly.

Taeyong smiled and hugged Kun tightly. “I’m so excited,” he said, “this is really happening.”

Kun held Taeyong close. “We’re having a baby,” he mumbled in awe. The joy was incredibly overwhelming, especially considering he hadn’t known for sure for that long. While Kun would always wished he knew sooner, he was just glad his boys were healthy. He pulled back slightly when he felt a weight next to him on the couch and smiled when he saw Chenle trying to sneak his way onto his lap.

Taeyong smiled happily and reached out to smooth Chenle’s hair. “Lele, are you excited too?” he asked.

Chenle nodded as he settled himself onto Kun’s lap. “When’s baby coming?” he asked staring up at Taeyong, “wanna play.” Kun smiled widely; Chenle’s enthusiasm was contagious and he was intrigued to see how the toddler would react to how much longer he would have to wait.

“He won’t be here til February, baby,” Taeyong said with a pout. He wanted to meet the baby just as much as Chenle did.

Chenle mimicked Taeyong’s pout and looked up at Kun, hoping for a different answer. “I don’t want to wait that long either, but he’ll be here before we know it,” Kun said.

“It won’t be that long, baby,” Taeyong said, “you can still play with me for now.”

Chenle was satisfied with that and clambered from Kun’s lap to sit on Taeyong’s instead. Kun watched nervously, but the toddler was as gentle as ever.

Taeyong was glad that his family was so excited about this. Hopefully, everyone else would be too.


	21. Chapter 21

Kun spent the next couple days anxiously awaiting everyone’s reactions. Despite thinking he was fully prepared a loud knock at the door one evening still made him jump a mile. “Let’s go see who it is, Lele,” he said happily. The toddler sprinted to the door and stood on his tiptoes to reach the knob.

Taeyong was laying on the couch, pillow shoved between his knees, watching the news. When someone suddenly knocked on the door, he sat up a bit, waiting for Kun and Chenle to let their visitor in.

Kun swung the door open and was not surprised to see Johnny standing behind it. “Uncle J!” Chenle said excitedly, sticking his hands up immediately. “Hi, hyung,” Kun greeted, stepping aside, “Taeyong’s on the couch.”

Taeyong sat up when he heard Johnny at the door. He had been expecting this visit for days. "Lee Taeyong, I'm mad at you," Johnny announced as he walked into the living room with Chenle on his shoulders.

Chenle was in his own little world, giggling happily as he took in their living room from the new height. Kun followed Johnny into the living room and stood to the side watching. He did his best to hold back a smile, but his efforts proved futile.

Taeyong pouted up at Johnny. "And why are you mad at me?" he asked, feigning innocence. Johnny narrowed his eyes. "You really were only gonna let me find out through a card?"

Kun made sure to stay out of the way. He knew Johnny wasn’t legitimately angry, but it was best to simply be a spectator.

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't tell Mark either and Ten only knew because he was babysitting when we had an appointment," Taeyong said, failing at hiding a smile. "You've killed me," Johnny said seriously, "I saw these pictures and I died.”

Kun couldn’t help but laugh at that. He dropped onto the chair and settled down comfortably. Chenle was still happy as a clam, sitting atop Johnny’s shoulders and had even rested his chin on top of the man’s head.

Johnny sat down on the couch next to Taeyong. "These pictures are so goddamn cute, Tae, what the hell?" Taeyong finally broke into a smile and hugged his best friend.

Chenle climbed down from Johnny's shoulders and tried to sneak onto his lap, with limited success. "Come sit with me, Lele," Kun said. The toddler carefully got down from the couch and made his way over to Kun, who scooped him up and sat him on his own lap.

"So another boy," Johnny said, "have you guys chosen a name yet? Because I hear Johnny is pretty popular this year."

Kun rolled his eyes. "We haven't even started thinking of one yet, but we'll be sure to keep it in mind," he said with a small chuckle. He had absolutely no plans on naming his son after any of their friends, but he was content to appease the older man for now.

Taeyong shook his head fondly. "Tennie said the same thing when he found out."

"Lele, what do you think? Should we name the new baby after Uncle J?" Kun asked. The toddler looked between Kun and Johnny and immediately hid himself in his father's neck. Kun chuckled softly and rubbed his son's back.

Taeyong smiled softly as he watched his fiancé and their son. “You’re really in love with them,” Johnny said quietly.

Kun tickled Chenle’s side, causing the toddler to squirm out of his hiding spot. “Baba, stop,” he said between giggles. Kun only stopped when Chenle was about to slip off his lap. He quickly grabbed his son and reset him in the middle of his lap.

“I’m really happy,” Taeyong replies softly, “I didn’t think I would have any of this and instead I have all of it. It’s surreal.”

Kun could tell Taeyong and Johnny were watching them and he wasn’t able to hide his smile. He couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, but he kept his focus on Chenle anyway. He bounced the toddler up and down on his legs, earning himself more gleeful giggles.

"I'm happy for you," Johnny said seriously, "you guys are great with Chenle and you're gonna be even better with the new baby."

Kun's smile widened and he kept his eyes on his son. "Thanks, hyung," he said softly. He was so excited for their little family to be growing and he was glad that their friends shared the same sentiment.

Taeyong smiled and let a hand rest on his belly. "It's a big step, but I think we're ready for it."

Kun hated leaving Taeyong home alone with Chenle even more now but he had no choice.  The next couple of weeks were relatively quiet and they settled into a routine as best they could.  One night when he got home, Kun called out his usual greetings and immediately went to find his fiancé.

"Kitchen!" Taeyong called over his shoulder. He and Chenle were cleaning up from what had started as sugar cookies and ended as sugar all over the house.

"Looks like you two had a fun day," Kun commented when he walked into the kitchen, "I can finish cleaning up. I'll get everything dirty again making dinner anyways." He pecked Taeyong on the cheek before scooping Chenle into his arms.

"Someone decided to run off with a tube of pink food gel," Taeyong said, a little exasperated, "this is only the start of the mess."

"And where did that tube of food gel end up?" Kun asked looking down at the toddler in his arms. Chenle hid his face in Kun's neck and didn't answer. Kun switched the boy to his hip, so he could hold him with one arm and start helping put some things away with the other.

"Oh, you know, just squeezed all over his bed and the bathroom sink and the tub and pretty much everywhere a two year old and squeeze pink food gel," Taeyong said airily as he shut off the faucet.

"Oh, Chenle, you can't make a mess like that," Kun said sternly. The toddler whimpered in his arms and tried to hide even more. "Don't worry about anything, babe, I'll take care of it. You just go relax and get off your feet," he said, turning his attention towards Taeyong.

"The dye won't come out of his sheets, I tried," Taeyong said, "please, let's just order pizza before anything else gets stained."

"Of course.  What kind of pizza do you want?" Kun asked. He kept Chenle held tightly in his arms so the toddler couldn't make any more messes. Chenle quickly realized that he wasn't getting down so he dropped his head onto Kun's shoulder in defeat. Kun walked across the kitchen and pulled a couple menus out of the spare drawer.

"Plain, pineapple, I don't care," Taeyong said, "I'm gonna lay down for a few minutes; you and Lele can decide."

"Alright.  I'll come get you when it gets here," Kun said. He set Chenle down with a warning to not go anywhere. The toddler stayed put and hung his head, knowing he was going to get yelled at.  Kun quickly ordered a half pineapple and bacon and half plain pizza for them and turned his attention back to the toddler. "Lele, you have to be careful," he began slowly, crouching down next to the toddler, "you can't make a mess all over the house like this again, okay?"

Taeyong waddled out of the kitchen and into his and Kun's bedroom. He had just laid down when he heard their house phone ringing. "I'm not getting it," he called out.

Kun grabbed the phone and answered it. His heart dropped when he figured out who it was. He instructed Chenle to stay put and he walked into the bedroom. "Tae, it's your parents," he said nervously, "and they want to talk to you."

"You're kidding," Taeyong said, cracking his eyes open, but Kun just held the phone out. With a sigh, Taeyong sat up and took the phone, holding it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Taeyong, I just talked to Mark.  He told me something about you having a baby?  Oh, please tell me he's lying. There's no baby, right?" his mother rambled the moment her son answered the phone.

Taeyong sighed. "There's a baby," he said quietly, shooing Kun off, "there's also a toddler and a fiancé."

Kun regretfully left the room; he had no idea how that conversation was going to go, but he knew it wouldn't be good. There was a long pause before Taeyong's mother spoke again. "What are you talking about?" she asked flatly.

"I have a fiancé," Taeyong said dully, "and we have a two year old son and we're going to have another son in a couple of months. I don't know what's confusing about that."

She snorted in disbelief. "And you were planning on hiding this family from us for how long? Did you just hope Mark would keep us updated? He is the only one who talks to us anyway," she snarked.

Taeyong was growing tired of this. "I am going to continue to hide this family from you," he said, "I don't want you or your husband anywhere near my children. The _only_ reason Mark talks to you is because you didn't fuck him up like you did to me. I'm not allowing that near my kids."

"I can't believe you still have the audacity of a teenager. I'm still your mother whether you like it or not and you should treat me as such. I sure hope your children don't take after you. I would hate to see you have to deal with the things I did," she snapped.

"Oh my god, just _shut up_ ," Taeyong said finally, "I'm almost thirty years old. I don't owe you anything anymore. At least my kids will grow up knowing that they're loved and supported, no matter what."

She sighed angrily. "I am so disappointed in you. You weren’t raised to be so disrespectful to your mother. Goodbye, Taeyong. Just don't tell your brother anything you wouldn't want us to know," she warned. With that she clicked the end button and slammed the phone onto the counter.

Taeyong sighed as he turned off the phone. At least he wouldn't have to deal with that witch of a woman again. Mark, on the other hand, he needed to have a chat with.

Kun had set up the toddler at the kitchen table with some crayons and paper to keep him occupied and within eyesight. Once the pizza arrived he put it on the counter and went to get Taeyong. He knocked gently on the bedroom door before pushing it open. "Hey, babe, the pizza's here," he said quietly.

Taeyong sighed and got up. "My mother was less than happy," he said quietly, "I have to talk to Mark about keeping certain things to himself from now on."

Kun frowned. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think they would react like this if he told them," he said sadly. He knew Mark had been talking to his parents again for a while, but he obviously didn't know the consequences of telling them about the baby.

"Neither did I, but it doesn't matter. I'm not involved with them anymore and I don't plan to be ever again," Taeyong said in a tone of finality. "Let's go eat some pizza."

Kun mustered a small smile and took Taeyong's hand in his own and gave it a small squeeze. He helped Chenle clean up his drawing, promising the toddler he could finish it after dinner. After he put the pizza in the center of the table, he grabbed plates for everyone and sat down in his own seat.

A few more weeks passed and before Taeyong knew it, he was sitting in his living room, surrounding by his friends and way too many gifts.

Even though the shower wasn't for Chenle; he was acting like it was. He was soaking up as much attention from each person as he could and Kun could barely keep an eye on the toddler. The only way he was able to wrangle the toddler into his lap was with the promise that he could help Taeyong open the presents.

Taeyong was a little overwhelmed. There was so much stuff around him that he wasn't sure he could ever open it all. "Lele, you wanna help me open some presents?" he asked.

Chenle nodded eagerly and practically leapt out of Kun's lap to sit next to Taeyong. The toddler pressed himself as close as physically possible without sitting in Taeyong's lap. Ten had sat himself in the arm chair, and pulled Yuta into his lap. He wrapped his arms around the older man's waist and peered around him to watch Taeyong open his presents.

Taeyong grabbed the first box in front of him and passed it to Chenle. He predicted that the boy would quickly get bored as he realized that none of the presents were toys for him, so hopefully he could keep him entertained at least for a little bit.

Chenle took the box eagerly and with a little help from Kun managed to get it open. "It's clothes," Chenle said slightly disappointed when he looked inside. Kun couldn't help but laugh at the toddler's pout. "The baby needs something to wear when he comes, Lele," he said gently.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle. "Here, Lele, let's trade," he said, holding out another package.

Chenle happily gave up the box of clothes in favor of the new box. His eyes lit up when he heard the contents of the box rattling around inside. Kun once again helped get the box open and waited for the toddler to open it rest of the way.

Taeyong set the clothes to the side, marking down on a sticky note who they were from. He did not welcome the thought of having to send out thank yous for all of these things.

Kun heard Ten and Yuta whispering quietly behind him, but he couldn't quite hear what they were saying. His attention was too focused on Chenle, who was mesmerized by the toy that he pulled out of the box.

Taeyong smiled as Chenle played with the toy that was definitely well below his age group. "You're gonna share with the baby, right, Lele?"

"Share _all_ my toys?" he asked. The new toy from the box was cool, but Chenle much preferred his own toys. Kun didn't think Chenle would have a problem with sharing with the new baby and he certainly hoped that didn't change.

"Some of them," Taeyong said patiently. He knew Chenle would be okay with sharing once the baby was there, but he didn't want a meltdown now.

Chenle was satisfied that he would still have some toys to himself and put the new one back in the box. He eagerly reached his arms out for the next box to open. This continued until all of the presents had been opened and Chenle had given them all his seal of approval.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle enjoying himself. "Thank you, everyone," he said to the group gathered in the living room.

"Yes, thank you," Kun said, "I think the baby will be set for life." Obviously he would grow out of some of the clothes relatively quickly, but it felt like he had a different outfit for everyday. Chenle yawned and stuck his arms in the air for Kun to pick him up. Kun easily lifted the toddler into his arms and let him curl into his shoulder.

Slowly, the group started to disperse. Mark, Donghyuck, and Renjun were the first to leave, citing early shifts, and Ten and Yuta weren't far behind. Soon, it was just Johnny left with them.

"I think it's nap time," Kun announced, "Lele, say goodbye." Chenle waved and mumbled a tired "bye-bye" to Johnny. After that, Kun walked down the hallway to the boy's room, bouncing slightly.

"Have you guys talked about names at all?" Johnny asked when Kun left the room. Taeyong shrugged. "I've been thinking, but we haven't actually talked."

Chenle was still wound up from the party so he didn't want to go down for his nap. Kun walked around the room, still bouncing and singing quietly, trying to lull the toddler to sleep quickly.

"I might honestly give Lele a little input," Taeyong said, "give him the finally decision if it comes down to two or something." He wanted the toddler to be as involved in this process as possible.

Kun was relieved when he finally heard Chenle's breathing even out. He gently laid the toddler in bed, careful not to wake him up again. After placing a gentle kiss on his son's forward he went back into the living room where Johnny and Taeyong were still talking.

"He asleep?" Taeyong asked when Kun sat next to him. He leaned on the younger man carefully, slipping their hands together.

"Yeah. He took a little bit to go down, but he should sleep for a while," Kun replied. Smiling softly, he happily took Taeyong's hand in his own. He sighed quietly as he looked at everything that still had to be cleaned up.

"You two are so cute," Johnny said, standing up, "which is my cue to leave." Taeyong pouted but he knew not to fight the older man. It had been hard enough to get Johnny to stay the entire time with Ten and Yuta there. He was still hopelessly in love with both of them.

Kun's smile widened. "Thanks for everything, hyung. We'll see you soon," he said softly. When Johnny had left he turned his attention back to Taeyong. "What do you say to a little cat nap and then we can tackle getting everything organized and put away?" Kun asked.

"Or we take a longer nap and put everything away as we rearrange Chenle's room," Taeyong suggested. They would be putting the baby's things in with Chenle, although he would probably sleep in the master bedroom for at least a few months.

Kun hummed in agreement. "I like the sound of that, but we definitely won't be comfortable on the couch for that long," he said. He could have easily fallen asleep on the spot, but he knew that wasn't a good idea.

Taeyong managed to get himself off the couch with some difficulty and pulled Kun to their bedroom, avoiding the piles all over the floor. It was naptime.

Kun followed Taeyong closely, eyeing his fiancé nervously. Once they got to the bedroom he carefully helped Taeyong lay down before climbing into bed after him.

Taeyong groaned in relief as he finally laid in bed. “The little fucker’s had his knee in my kidney all day,” he complained, “next time, you’re doing this.” That was a lie, but the idea did make him feel better.

Kun felt bad that the baby was making Taeyong uncomfortable, especially considering there wasn't really anything he could do. He scooted closer and laid a hand on Taeyong's belly, slowly rubbing small circles. "Next time?" he asked incredulously. He wasn't even sure he was ready for this baby let alone more.

Taeyong hummed and closed his eyes. “I want a flock,” he said, already halfway to falling asleep, “a herd of little Kuns.”

Kun couldn't help but laugh at that. "Let's have this one and then worry about getting you a little flock," he said between chuckles. He pressed a gentle kiss to Taeyong's forehead and settled down to fall asleep himself.


	22. Chapter 22

“Chenle, guess what day it is!” Taeyong singsonged as he walked into the boy’s bedroom on the morning of November twenty second.

"Birthday!" the toddler said excitedly, clapping his hands together. Kun smiled brightly and followed closely behind Taeyong into their son's room.

“That’s right!” Taeyong said, lifting Chenle up and settling the boy on his hip. “How old are you today?”

"Three!" he exclaimed, holding out three tiny digits to emphasize his answer. Kun watched his boys fondly. Chenle looked so happy and he knew the toddler would be even happier when he found out that Jeno was coming over to spend the day.

“You’re such a big boy, Lele,” Taeyong said, “so let’s have a big boy breakfast, okay? Go get dressed so Baba and I can take you out.”

Chenle squirmed out of Taeyong's arms and went running to the chair in the corner where Kun had already laid his clothes out. He did his best to get dressed quickly, but that was proving to be more difficult that he thought. Eventually he figured it out and went running back out to the living room to find his babas. "Lele, your shirt is on backwards," Kun said gently. He quickly fixed it and then lifted the toddler into his arms.

“Ready to go?” Taeyong and Kun were taking Chenle out for a full Western breakfast. The boy deserved it for being as incredible as he had been.

Chenle nodded and wiggled in excitement the whole walk to the car. Kun could barely get the boy properly buckled into his carseat because of how much he was moving around. Soon enough they were finally on their way to the restaurant. 

They got to the restaurant and managed to get a table in a corner, away from much of the noise. “What do you want to do today?” Taeyong asked Chenle once they settled into the booth.

"Movie?" Chenle asked. Kun had felt bad that their son's birthday was practically in the winter because it was always too cold to do things outside, but lucky for them the toddler's favorite past time was still watching movies.

“What movie?” Taeyong asked as he opened a straw and put it in Chenle’s juice, bending the top so he could drink more easily.

"Cars!" Chenle answered immediately. He was getting more and more excited with each passing moment; he had never celebrated his birthday before. Kun smiled fondly. The toddler looked so happy and he almost wished they could freeze time.

“Hm, I don’t think that’s in theatres anymore,” Taeyong said, glancing over at Kun, “but we can watch it at home.”

Kun nodded, "yeah, we'll have to watch that one at home tonight. Is that okay or do you want to see a new movie instead?" Chenle considered for a moment before shaking his head. "Wanna watch Cars," he said definitively. "Alright, baby," Kun said with a smile.

“What if we invited Jeno over to watch Cars with you?” Taeyong asked, flipping through his menu absently.

"Can you?" Chenle asked hopefully. "Of course, Lele. I'm sure he'd love to watch Cars and play with you all day," Kun answered happily. He was glad the toddler was excited to see Jeno, considering his little friend would be meeting them back at their apartment.

Taeyong smiled and ruffled Chenle’s hair. “What do you wanna eat, baby?”

Chenle giggled quietly. "Pancakes," he said, much more confidently. Kun couldn't stop smiling as he watched Chenle. He was always smiling when it had anything to do with his son, but especially so today. 

When their waitress returned, Taeyong ordered a short stack of pancakes for Chenle, as well as for himself. After Kun had ordered and the woman had left again, he turned back to his son, getting the toddler to play some simple table games with him.

Chenle was very entertained playing with Taeyong. He was laughing along happily and only stopped when their food had come. Over the last year that they had had the toddler, he had certainly become a lot less messy of an eater. However, no shirt was safe, especially when syrup is involved.

Breakfast was overall a happy affair. Taeyong did need to change Chenle shirt before they headed home, not wanting to get syrup in their new car, but it went smoothly otherwise. When they got home, Taeil, Sicheng, and Jeno were waiting outside the building.

“Jeno, what do you say?” Sicheng prompted quietly. “Happy birthday, Chenle!” the boy said excitedly as the trio approached them. Kun greeted his friends and watched Chenle’s face light up.

Taeyong watched fondly as Chenle broke away to run over to his friend and hug him tightly. “Here’s Jeno’s overnight bag,” Taeil said, handing a small backpack to Taeyong, “let us know if you need anything, okay?”

"We will. Thank you for bringing him," Kun said. After saying goodbye to Taeil and Sicheng, they wrangled the toddlers upstairs and no sooner did the door open than they were taking off for Chenle's room.

“Boys! You need to take your shoes and coats off!” Taeyong called as he set Jeno’s bag inside the door.

"I'll get them," Kun said, already following the boys down the hallway. He wasn't surprised to find their coats strewn across Chenle's floor. "You have to take your shoes off in the house," Kun said as he picked up the coats. The two boys quickly got their shoes off and immediately went back to playing. Kun sighed and grabbed the two pairs of shoes as well. He hung the coats up in the hallway closet and put the shoes by the front door.

“It’s like a glimpse into the future,” Taeyong said fondly. “I’m gonna lay down for a bit, but I’ll keep my ears in, okay?”

"It is. I can keep an eye on the boys if you want to take them out so you can get some rest," Kun said. He knew Taeyong was tired and there was no way the boys would be quiet enough for him to get proper rest.

“I’m just achy, not tired,” Taeyong said, “set them up with the movie and I’ll be okay.”

"Alright," Kun agreed slowly, "call me if you need anything." He took one last look over his shoulder and regretfully went to find the boys. "Do you want to watch the movie now?" Kun asked, standing in the doorway of Chenle's room. Chenle immediately dropped the toy he was playing with and leapt to his feet. He ran over to Kun with Jeno hot on his heels, excitedly chanting "movie, movie." Kun smiled and ushered the boys to the living room couch. After setting them up with some snacks and the movie, Kun sat himself in the chair, keeping an ear towards the bedroom.

Taeyong laid down with a quiet groan, glad to be off of his swollen feet. He shoved a pillow between his thighs and grabbed his phone. The noises from the movie were just barely audible and it made him smile. He was glad Chenle was enjoying his birthday.

Kun was constantly amazed by how Chenle, with his practically non-existent attention span, could sit stock still through a movie. He wanted to check on Taeyong, but he was too nervous to leave the boys alone with the snacks so he decided to wait until the movie was over.

Laying on his side, Taeyong scrolled through social media, retweeting and reblogging to his heart's content. He was bored without his fiancé though. "How's it going?" he texted Kun.

Kun smiled when he saw Taeyong's text. It was ridiculous to him that they were texting despite being only a hallway apart, but he typed out a message regardless. "They're good. It's about halfway over now. Do you need anything?" he clicked send and sat back. The boys had both abandoned their now empty snack bowls in favor of devoting their entire attention to the TV.

"I need you," Taeyong texted back, cringing at how cheesy it was. "But seriously, I'm okay."

Kun shook his head fondly. "I'll be right in," he responded before slowly standing up from the chair. He grabbed the bowls and marveled at how the boys had managed to squish themselves together into the middle of the couch rather than spreading out. Smiling softly, he put the bowls in the kitchen and meandered down the hallway into their bedroom.

Taeyong smiled when Kun entered their bedroom. "It's so lonely in here by myself, but it's so much more comfortable than the couch," he said with a pout.

Kun walked towards the bed and climbed in. With a soft sigh he settled next to his fiancé. "The boys should be entertained for another hour so I don't see why we can't have a little alone time," he said quietly. Even after their movie ended, Kun had no doubt that the toddlers would quickly make their way back to Chenle's room to keep playing.

"I can't believe how much he's grown up," Taeyong said with a fond smile. Chenle had really come such a long way since he'd first come to live with them.

"I know. It feels like we've had him for so much longer than we have," Kun said. Even though Chenle had only been with them for about a year it felt so much longer to Kun. He fit into their own family so naturally, Kun sometimes forgot he wasn't biologically theirs.

"We're so lucky, Kunnie," Taeyong said with a sigh, "he's so perfect for us."

Kun's soft smile widened. "He really is," he murmured, "and he's going to be a perfect big brother." He really didn't know what they would do without Chenle.

"He really is," Taeyong agreed, "he might even be more in love with this baby than we are."

Kun chuckled fondly thinking about how much Chenle already adored the baby. "I think he's just happy he found a way to play with his brother," he said. Whenever Chenle had the chance, he would sit himself in Taeyong's lap and press both hands to his stomach and wait for the baby to kick.

"I'm glad he enjoys it because it's starting to get old for me," Taeyong joked. He didn't mind the baby kicking, he just didn't like feet in his other vital organs.

Kun frowned; he knew Taeyong was joking, but he still felt bad. "Only a couple more months," he said supportively. 

"I wish I could meet him now," Taeyong said with a sigh, setting his hand on his belly. It was so stressful to still have to wait two and a half months.

"I know, babe. He'll be here before we know it," Kun said softly. A few minutes later, he heard two sets of footsteps running down the hallway. Rolling over slightly, he saw Chenle push the door open, with Jeno right behind. "Baba, the movie's over," he said. "Alright, baby. Do you want to go play in your room for a little while until lunch?" Kun asked. Chenle nodded and turned around, dragging Jeno with him back down the hallway.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle and Jeno. “If you guys are good, maybe we’ll go to the park later,” he offered after them as they ran off.

Kun just barely caught Chenle babbling excitedly about going to the park before the boys disappeared into his room. “I think they like that idea,” he said.

Taeyong hummed. “It’ll give us a chance to figure out dinner and cake too,” he said.

“Picking somewhere to eat it won’t be a problem, but I’m not sure how we’re going to hide a cake,” Kun said. It would have been easy for him to pick up something one day after work if the toddler wasn’t always waiting to greet him immediately.

“I don’t know if it’s the best idea to take two rowdy toddlers out to a restaurant,” Taeyong said wisely. He knew Chenle and Jeno would be all worked up after their time at the park and getting them to calm down at a restaurant would be difficult.

“I could probably sneak to the store around the corner while they eat and get something small,” Kun said. “I’m more worried about getting them there. We don’t have a car seat for Jeno and that’s too long of a walk for you.”

“How about you take them to a park and I’ll go to the corner shop and get dinner and a cake?” Taeyong suggested. Kun could easily walk both toddlers to the park and Taeyong could easily drive to the store.

“That sounds perfect,” Kun said, “I’ll let them play here for a few more minutes and then I’ll take them.” He wanted to spend a little bit more time with Taeyong first.

Taeyong smiled and snuggled closer to his fiancé. "There's only ten weeks left," he said, "maybe we should talk about names."

Kun hummed contently and wrapped an arm around Taeyong. “Yeah...have you thought of anything you like yet?” he asked. To be honest, Kun hadn’t even begun to think of any names.

"There's a few things that I had thought of, but nothing I'm really in love with," Taeyong said with a shrug, "naming a baby is harder than I thought."

“Well we always have Johnny and Ten as backups if we can’t think of anything,” Kun said jokingly. He was glad they still had ten weeks to think of a name, but he had a feeling that time would go by faster than he wanted it to.

Taeyong rolled his eyes. "Do you want to give the baby a Chinese name?" he suggested.

Kun shook his head. "We have Chenle. That's more than enough for me. I want this baby to have a Korean name," he said, smiling softly.

"We could give him both," Taeyong said, but he was a little glad Kun wanted the baby to have a Korean name. He wouldn't have been any help with trying to produce a Chinese name.

"I like that idea," Kun agreed. His mind was immediately swimming through the Chinese names he'd like for his son, but he pushed the thoughts away. He wanted to focus on his Korean name first, which was proving to be much more difficult that he imagined.

"What about a name that means something?" Taeyong suggested, "maybe something that we want for him?"

"That would be nice," Kun said. He there for a moment thinking of all the things he wanted for his son. "God, I hope he has your smarts," he said after a moment. As grateful as he was for the tutoring sessions back in college, he didn't want his son to ever struggle that much in school.

"I hope he has your patience," Taeyong countered. He didn't know how Kun put up with half of the things he dealt with sometimes. "Or your health."

Kun smiled shyly. "If he has my patience and health than I want him to have your looks," he said softly. He knew Taeyong didn't like to be complimented, but he couldn't help himself.

"Out of all of those, I think patience and intelligence are the nicest," Taeyong said quietly, "In-nae and Jisung."

"In-nae and Jisung," Kun let the names roll off his tongue, "I really like both of them." He almost didn't want to choose one over the other.

"At least we have options," Taeyong said, "we can decide when we see him." He knew that the moment he saw his son, he would know which name would fit him perfectly.

"I can't believe we get to meet him so soon, but it still feels like it’s forever away," Kun said. Now that they picked some names, it felt even more real to him, and he was getting more and more antsy to meet his son.

"I can't wait," Taeyong said softly, rubbing his belly gently. It felt like the day was still forever away.

"Me either," Kun whispered, smiling widely. He put his hand over Taeyong's and leaned over to kiss his fiancé gently.

Taeyong kissed Kun back sweetly. He was glad that he got this downtime with his fiancé. Some people weren't so lucky.

Kun pulled away and whispered a soft "I love you." He watched Taeyong closely, smile widening, until he heard the door open again. "Baba, park?" Chenle asked hopefully. "Absolutely, baby. You boys go get your shoes on and I'll meet you by the door." The toddlers immediately ran off down the hall. "Do you need anything before I go?" he asked.

"Can you help me sit up?" Taeyong asked, blushing. He was a little top heavy and it was hard to right himself in the soft material of the bed.

"Of course, babe," Kun said. He carefully helped Taeyong sit up before slipping off the bed himself. "Are you sure you'll be okay to go to the store?" he asked nervously, "I can always go when I get back."

"I'll be fine, babe, I'm not an invalid," Taeyong assured Kun, painstakingly getting to his feet. He slipped his feet into a pair of shoes, no longer going for ones with laces.

"I know, I know, but I'm still worried," he said, chewing on his lip. He quickly stepped back towards the bed to help Taeyong stand.

"I'll take the car," Taeyong promised, "and I'll call you if I need anything, okay?"

"Okay, just be careful," Kun said. He stole one more soft kiss before walking into the hallway. Kun grabbed the boys' coats and was happy to see that they were waiting by the door with their shoes on. After outfitting them in gloves and hats and putting on his own things, Kun led the boys from the apartment. Thankfully the weather wasn't terribly chilly, although there was a small breeze. The walk went relatively quickly as the toddlers were eager to get to the park and they immediately took off for the slides.

Taeyong drove himself to the grocery store on the corner, parking in a spot near the doors to the store. He grabbed a few things for dinner, but spent most of the time he was there stressing over a cake. Finally, he caved and sent pictures of his top two contenders to Kun.

Kun panicked when he heard his phone buzz and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket. He sighed in relief when he saw that Taeyong just wanted opinions on cakes. "Those are both adorable. I think he'd like the one with the car on it. See if they can write his name in green on it," he texted back.

Taeyong picked up the car cake and carried it over to the counter, describing to the baker what exactly he wanted written on it. Chenle's name in Chinese was a bit too complicated to fit, so he settled for the Hangul instead.

Kun left his phone on his leg in case Taeyong needed anything else and looked back up to watch the boys. He sat back on the bench and sighed softly. Even though his seat was a little bit away from the slides, he could clearly hear both boys' laughter and it made him smile.

Taeyong sent Kun a picture of the decorated cake, then pocketed his phone so he could pay and haul the groceries outside. A helpful cartboy assisted him with the heavier items and he headed home in a good mood.

"That's perfect!" Kun responded when he saw the picture of the cake. The boys were now climbing the jungle gym and Kun was content to let them play until they got tired. That would give Taeyong plenty of time to get everything home.

Taeyong made it home and managed to snag a neighbor to help him bring everything upstairs. Once he was inside and unpacked, he hid the cake in the fridge and started on dinner. "Food in 45," he texted Kun.

"Sounds good. See you soon <3," he responded. He smiled at his own cheesiness and put his phone back down. A couple minutes later he called out a ten minute warning and was met with two of the most adorable pouts he had ever seen.

Dinner would actually take Taeyong about an hour, but he knew it would take Kun a while to wrangle the two toddlers into going home. If they were home early, they could help set the table. It was a win-win.

Kun felt bad when he called that it was time to go home, but the boys had plenty of time to play. One more turn down the slide turned into five and only the promise of food dragged the boys off the playscape. The toddlers were much slower walking home, half from reluctance and half from tiredness. Eventually the trio made it back to the apartment and Kun helped unbundle the two toddlers.

Taeyong had predicted correctly. By the time Kun and the boys got home, the food was in the oven and he was just washing his dishes. “How was the park?” he asked as Chenle toddled in, looking exhausted.

“Fun! Kun baba pushed swings,” Chenle said happily. He wandered over to Taeyong and wrapped himself around his legs. Kun poured two cups of water and gave one to Jeno after he sat the boy at the table.

“Go wash your hands, boys,” Taeyong admonished, rubbing Chenle’s back before gently guiding the boy away from him, “then you can tell me more.”

Jeno finished his water and then hopped off the chair to follow Chenle to the bathroom. “Go sit down, babe, I can finish the dishes,” Kun said gently.

Normally, Taeyong would argue, but his feet were way too swollen to fight with Kun. “Thanks, babe,” he said, kissing Kun’s cheek on his way to the table.

Kun smiled softly and watched Taeyong until he sat down. He stepped up the sink and picked up a bowl to wash. “How was the store?” he asked conversationally.

“Good,” Taeyong said, “a cartboy even helped me load the car, which was nice.” That wasn’t something that happened to him often.

“Oh, that was really nice of him,” Kun said happily. He always worried about Taeyong going out without him, especially since he found out about the baby. The toddlers finally reappeared, giggling quietly, and Kun could only imagine the current state of their bathroom.

“Oh, Lele, the baby’s kicking,” Taeyong suddenly announced. The toddler cane bouncing over and let Taeyong guide his hand around his belly until he found the spot. “Nono, come feel!”

Jeno walked over slowly and eyed Taeyong nervously. He stopped a little ways away, content to just watch.

“You can come feel, Jeno,” Taeyong said invitingly, “I promise it doesn’t hurt.” He held out a hand to the boy.

Jeno considered for a minute before reaching his hand out towards Taeyong’s. He took a few more steps forward and stood next to Chenle.

Taeyong helped Jeno find the spot on his belly where the baby was kicking and smiled as a few taps hit the older toddler’s hand.

Jeno’s eyes widened when the baby kicked his hand but he didn’t move it away. He stared at his hand, waiting for it to happen again. Kun finished the last dish and stepped back from the sink. He smiled widely as he watched the toddlers happily trying to find where the baby was going to kick next.

“That’s where Lele’s baby brother is,” Taeyong explained to the bewildered toddler. He carefully moved the boys’ hands to where the baby’s feet had moved.

“How the baby get in?” Jeno asked confusedly as he stared at Taeyong’s belly. Kun bit his lip to keep from laughing and moved to stand next to the oven, waiting for the timer to go off.

“He started growing in there,” Taeyong said easily, having already answered this question for Chenle. He hated how it sounded like the baby was a parasite, but a three year old wouldn’t know that much.

“No hurt?” Jeno asked. He continued to let his hand be guided around. Kun watched the trio fondly. Taeyong was so good with the boys and it just made him want their baby to come even quicker.

“Nope!” Taeyong said cheerily. The baby kicking out didn’t hurt him unless it was particularly hard. It was when he kicked in that there were issues.

Jeno mumbled a quiet “whoa” and continued to stare at his hand. Meanwhile Kun had taken the food out the oven and was beginning to plate it. “Alright, boys, it’s dinner time. You can play with the baby more after you eat,” he said.

Taeyong tugged his shirt back down with a smile and helped the boys climb into their chairs. Once the food was on the table, he urged them both to dig in.

Kun finally took his own seat at the table. As cute as they were, trying to keep an eye on two toddlers while they ate was proving to be quite the challenge.

Taeyong did his best to keep an eye on Chenle’s mess, hoping Kun would handle Jeno. Divide and conquer really was the ultimate parenting strategy.

Kun was happy to find that Jeno was a lot less messy than Chenle was when he ate. As a result they were able to finish dinner without getting any on his shirt, although the table wasn't so lucky. The toddlers energy levels were back at full and Kun did his best to keep them at the table, while he cleared the plates.

“Do we really want to give them sugar?” Taeyong asked as he witnessed how rowdy the boys were now that they had eaten. “Why don’t we just save it for lunch tomorrow?

"I don't know. It is his birthday today, but I don't think he would be too upset if he didn't get cake until tomorrow," Kun said. He definitely didn't need the toddlers getting anymore hyper so maybe saving the cake would be a good idea.

"Or we let them sugar-rush themselves to sleep," Taeyong said. He knew that the cake would only give the boys maybe another hour of energy before they were wiped out.

"Yeah that sounds good," Kun agreed, "I don't think Taeil and Sicheng would be too happy if we sent Jeno home hyped up on sugar." Luckily the toddlers had stayed at the table, but he could tell by their fiddling that their patience wouldn't last much longer.

"No, that's true," Taeyong said, "wanna get the cake set up? I think there's candles in the drawer under the microwave."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Can you entertain them in the living room for a few minutes?" Kun asked. The corner of his lips pulled into a small smile as he thought of how excited Chenle would be when he saw the cake. 

Taeyong nodded and got up, corralling the boys into the living room with the promise of some TV. Thankfully, the were both easy to entertain.

The second the boys were out of the room, Kun finished cleaning off the table. He put the dirty dishes out of the way and into the sink. Kun took his time wiping down the table and getting the cake out, wanting to give the toddlers a chance to play a little bit more. After lighting the candles, Kun took a picture of his handiwork before calling for the boys to come back in. 

"Go see baba, Lele," Taeyong said, "he has something for you and Jeno." The boys rushed off to the kitchen, leaving Taeyong to waddle behind.

"Happy birthday, Lele!" Kun said excitedly when the toddler re-entered the kitchen. Chenle ran over to the kitchen table and climbed quickly into his chair. Settling on his knees he stared at the cake with a wide grin on his face. Kun pushed Jeno's chair next to Chenle and helped the older boy sit down. He waited for Taeyong to make his way into the kitchen before he started singing.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Jeno try to sing along with Kun. Once Chenle had blown out his candles, Kun took the cake away to cut and gave each of the boys small pieces.

"Do you want a piece, Tae?" Kun asked. The boys were happily diving into theirs and Kun wasn't surprised that Chenle already ended up with some frosting on his nose.

"Just a small one," Taeyong said. Sugar hadn't been sitting well with him lately, but he wanted to celebrate a little bit.

Kun nodded and cut a small piece for Taeyong and one for himself. After handing the cake to his fiancé, he leaned against the counter and watched the toddlers finish eating.

"Lele, you got so messy," Taeyong said, grabbing a napkin to clean the boy up. He and Jeno were already giggling away, so he sent them to Chenle's room to play.

Kun watched the toddlers run out of the kitchen and smiled when heard the small footsteps come to a stop when they reached their destination. He put the rest of the cake back in the fridge and turned back towards the sink. "I think that really made his day," he said.

"I hope all of his day was good," Taeyong said. He wasn't sure if Chenle had been able to celebrate his birthday before coming to live with them, so he wanted to make sure that the boy always had the best day possible.

"He got to do all of his favorite things on top of having Jeno over so I'm sure he had a great day," Kun said. Chenle was a smiley toddler to begin with, but Kun had never seen the toddler quite so happy as he was today.

“And we’ll be doing it all again come February,” Taeyong said with a soft smile. He turned his focus to his belly. “Won’t we, Little Guy?”

"That we will," Kun whispered almost to himself. He snuck a look back at his fiancé and smiled widely. Regretfully, he turned back to the sink and slowly but surely the pile of dishes disappeared. "Alright, I'm going to go wrangle the boys into bed. I'll meet you in our room after," he said.

“Help me up first,” Taeyong said, holding his hands out for his Kun to grab. He was a little stuck in his chair.

Kun chuckled softly and easily helped Taeyong out of his chair. He tugged a little harder than necessary, effectively pulling his fiancé against him. "Is there anything else you need?" he asked, arms wrapping around Taeyong gently.

"No, I'm good," Taeyong said, wrapping his arms around Kun's middle, "let's go find the boys." He couldn't hear any noise from Chenle's room and he hoped it was because the boys were asleep and not dead.

Kun kept one arm around Taeyong’s waist as they walked into the room. He wasn’t surprised to find the boys asleep but he was surprised to find them cuddled together in the middle of Chenle’s bed. He almost didn’t want to disturb them, but he knew they couldn’t stay in their clothes.

Taeyong smiled softly at the sight. "You get Jeno, I'll get Lele," he whispered, carefully taking the smaller of the two boys into his arms.

Kun carefully lifted Jeno into his arms. The toddler blinked his eyes open and blearily looked around. Kun quickly helped him brush his teeth and get changed before settling him back in bed.

Chenle whined sleepily as Taeyong helped him change and get ready for bed. When he was settled back in bed next to Jeno, he automatically curled around the older boy and fell asleep.

Kun watched the toddlers for another few minutes, a small smile playing at his lips. Eventually he guided Taeyong out of the room so they could get ready for bed themselves.

Taeyong waddled his way down the hallway and fell into bed without even bothering to change. "Kunnie, I'm so  _ sore _ ," he whined.

“Aw, I’m sorry, babe. Not much longer,” Kun said softly. He sat cross-legged at the end of their bed and pulled one of Taeyong’s feet into his lap. He gently massaged his foot and ankle, wincing internally at how swollen it was. “It’ll all be worth it,” he promised.

"It will," Taeyong agreed, "so, so worth it. You should really try it out for yourself." He groaned as Kun pressed on the ball of his foot, where the swelling was the worst.

Kun shook his head. “I don’t think I’m quite cut out for this. Plus you’re the one with the grand plan to raise an army of children,” he said with a chuckle. He continued massaging Taeyong’s feet and he had to admit he almost felt a bit guilty.

"I'm happy enough with the little army I have," Taeyong said with a happy sigh. He wiggled his toes and pulled his feet out of Kun's lap. "Let's get some sleep."

Kun smiled softly and crawled up the bed. He flopped down on his stomach and pillowed his head on his arms, facing Taeyong. "God, you are so...perfect," he murmured.

"Don't say that," Taeyong said, shoving Kun's shoulder, "I'm far from. If anyone's perfect here, it's Lele."

"He must have gotten it from you," Kun said easily. He hid his head in his arms, but couldn't stop himself from smiling widely.

"Shut up," Taeyong whined, hitting Kun's shoulder blade lightly as he pouted. He was blushing deeply. God, he hated compliments.

Kun chuckled and peaked his head out. "Make me," he teased. He absolutely adored complimenting Taeyong and would certainly never get tired of it.

Taeyong simply shook his head and rolled over, pressing his back to Kun's front. "Go to sleep, Kunnie," he said, "I'm sure Lele and Jeno will be in here bright and early tomorrow morning."

Kun sighed and carefully wrapped an arm around Taeyong, letting it rest on his belly. "Good night, babe," he murmured, "I love you." He was exhausted just thinking about how rowdy the toddlers would be in the morning.


	23. Chapter 23

Before they knew it, Christmas was right around the corner. Chenle was incredibly excited for the holidays, but Taeyong was incredibly over it. He was tired and sore and he just wanted this baby to come already, especially when Chenle woke him up on Christmas morning by bouncing on his and Kun's bed.

Kun blinked his eyes open when he felt a sudden weight on the bed. "Morning, Lele," he said sleepily when the toddler wiggled himself in between him and Taeyong. "Hi, baba," he said with a small giggle.

Taeyong rolled over with a groan. "Lele, you know you can't jump on our bed like that anymore," he admonished tiredly, "we don't want to hurt the baby."

"Sorry, baba," Chenle said sincerely. He rolled himself over so he could watch Taeyong carefully. Kun combed his fingers through Chenle's unruly hair, trying to smooth it down.

"It's okay, baby," Taeyong said with a smile, "you're up early today. Is it a special occasion?"

"Christmas!" Chenle answered excitedly. He scooted across the small space to press himself against Taeyong instead.

Taeyong smiled and wrapped an arm around Chenle. "Is it? I had almost forgotten," he teased.

“Baba, how could you forget?” Chenle asked utterly bewildered. Kun chuckled quietly and watched his boys fondly.

“I don’t know, Lele, I don’t recall anyone reminding me,” Taeyong bluffed. The toddler had been running a countdown for weeks.

Chenle looked up at Taeyong with a pout. "But, baba," he whined, “ _I_ been tellin' you." Kun's smile widened; his son was absolutely adorable.

“Ohhh,” Taeyong said, “is that what you were telling me? I thought you said Christmas was next month!”

"Noooo, baba, Christmas today!" Chenle said, exasperated, "go see presents?"

“My present won’t be here til February,” Taeyong said, shaking his head, “but I can’t wait to see your presents, Lele!”

Kun smiled; as cute as that was, little did Taeyong know there was something waiting under the tree for him. Chenle giggled excitedly and crawled to the edge of the bed. “Come on, wanna go see!” he said. And with that he was down the hall and into the living room.

Taeyong groaned and pushed himself into a seated position. “How mad would Lele be if I fell back asleep for a few more hours?” He mumbled, rubbing his eye, “It’s six in the morning, Kunnie.”

“I don’t think he’d be mad at all. I’ll go keep him occupied and you get some more rest,” Kun said. He dragged himself to the edge of the bed and reluctantly pushed the warm covers off so he could stand up.

Taeyong’s laid himself back down and fell asleep within minutes. By the time he woke up again, the sun was streaming through the window and he could hear cartoons from down the hall.

Kun had to drag Chenle away from all the presents and was only able to get the toddler to sit still after he put the TV on. They sat together on the couch with Chenle happily snuggled up to Kun on his lap while they waited for Taeyong.

Taeyong shuffled into the living room with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His eyes were still heavy with sleep and he couldn’t really consider himself fully awake. With a groan, he dropped onto the couch next to Kun and leaned on his fiancé’s shoulder.

“Were you able to get some more sleep?” Kun asked quietly. Chenle quickly realized that Taeyong had come in and abandoned his cartoons, in favor of snuggling up to his baba.

“Mhm,” Taeyong hummed, closings his eyes, “‘m still tired though.”

“Well the guys aren’t getting here until later so you can relax all morning,” Kun said. He felt horrible about how exhausted Taeyong was.

“Baby kept me up all night kicking,” Taeyong mumbled, already half asleep against Kun’s shoulder, “I’ll nap more later once Lele is occupied with Jeno. We should let him open something before he implodes.”

Kun sighed sadly; the baby was keeping Taeyong up more and more recently and he was starting to get a bit worried. “That sounds like a good idea,” he said, “Lele, do you want to open some of your presents?” The toddler nodded eagerly and leapt off of Kun’s lap.

Taeyong groaned as he was jostled and painstakingly shoved a pillow between his thighs. “What’s he opening?” he asked, eyes still closed.

Kun sat back on the couch so Taeyong could lean against him more comfortably. “The big fire truck,” Kun said. He mentally prepared himself for the noise and lights that were bound to happen the instant the toddler found the buttons.

“Don’t let him open that first, Kunnie,” Taeyong said, forcing himself to sit up, “give him something small first.”

“Wait a minute, Lele,” Kun said standing up, “take these ones instead.” He handed the toddler two much smaller boxes, both contained action figures that would make no noise on their own.

“Do the big loud stuff near the end,” Taeyong mumbled once Kun sat back down. He had managed to crack his eyes open and was watching Chenle attempt to play with the action figures still in their boxes.

Kun nodded and kept his eyes on Chenle. “Come here, baby, let me help you with those,” he said. The toddler brought the boxes over and Kun took both figures out and handed them back to his son. “Thanks, baba,” Chenle said, grinning happily. He immediately plopped himself down in the middle of the floor to play with his new toys.

Taeyong was glad Chenle was easily distractible. He would play with those toys for hours before he would want to open another present. That meant naptime for Taeyong.

Kun kicked his feet up onto the couch and helped Taeyong lay down comfortably with him. “Get some more rest, babe,” he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to his fiancé’s forehead.

Taeyong shook his head, but still let his eyes fall closed. It was Chenle’s first Christmas with them where they could truly afford to give him what he deserved and he didn’t want to miss it.

“Everything will be here when you wake up,” Kun said soothingly. He would feel much better if Taeyong got some rest now considering how loud and rowdy it would get once everyone had arrived.

Taeyong couldn’t keep himself awake much longer. With a soft content sigh, he settled down and fell asleep.

Kun was relieved that Taeyong was finally getting some sleep. Chenle was still happy with his actions figures and Kun simply watched the boy, smiling as he listened to the stories the toddler was spinning.

Taeyong slept soundly and woke feel at least a little rested, although he knew it wouldn’t last long. Chenle was still playing with his action figures, so he evidently hadn’t been out for long.

“How was your nap?” Kun asked softly. He wished Taeyong had gotten to sleep a little bit longer but the nap was better than nothing.

“Good,” Taeyong said through a yawn. “Maybe we should give Lele’s new present?”

“Which one do you think?” he asked quietly. Even though he wished Taeyong slept for longer, it was good timing when he woke up because Chenle’s attention was waning.

“What’s left?” Taeyong asked. He could barely remember what he’d done this week, let alone what they’d gotten Chenle.

“The coloring book and the stuffed animal,” Kun answered. Chenle knew they were whispering about him and he had turned to look over at them.

“Give him the animal,” Taeyong said, mid-yawn. That should be able to get them a little more downtime.

“Lele, why don’t you go see what’s in the blue bag?” Kun suggested. The toddler immediately dropped his action figures and ran over to the bag. He pushed the paper to the side and smiled widely as he pulled out a tan teddy bear. His small fingers traced the red heart that was stitched into the bear’s chest and then he hugged it close. “Do you want to give the bear a name?” Kun asked.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle play with his new toy. Their son was so appreciative of everything they gave him and it warmed his heart.

Chenle stared at the bear for a moment before deciding that Teddy would be its name. "Teddy it is than," Kun said with a small chuckle. The toddler's creativity must had been spent while he was weaving stories with his action figures earlier.

"Lele, why don't you grab our gift for Kun baba?" Taeyong said, "it's in the red paper next to the tree."

Kun watched Chenle closely as the toddler grabbed the present and carried it over in outstretched arms. "Oh, Tae, what did you do?" he asked quietly. He was incredibly grateful for his fiancé and son, and was quite excited for the little surprise.

"It's just a little something to thank you for doing so much to take care of us these last few months." Taeyong was actually a little surprised that Kun hadn't found it, considering how long it had been sitting in their closet.

"That's my job though. You didn't need to get me a present for that. The baby's the perfect gift on his own," Kun said softly. He took the present from Chenle and thanked the toddler before sitting up slightly so he could unwrap the paper.

Taeyong smiled. He had needed Minghao's help with this one, as he knew Jun would snitch and Kun's parents wouldn't be cooperative. He'd wanted Kun to have something to always remind him of home, considering how hard it would be to go back to China for the next year. It was a little cheesy, but he'd gotten Minghao to find the best artisan in the city and get Kun a hand painted reed lunar calendar.

Kun's mouth dropped open when he saw the calendar and he had to force himself to close it. "Tae, this is gorgeous. I absolutely love it," he breathed, "thank you so much; this is perfect." He wanted to hang it up immediately, but he wasn't quite ready to let it go. Chenle was beaming next to him and he pulled the toddler closer to the couch so he could kiss his forehead. "Thank you, Lele," he said. He knew Taeyong had planned the gift, but he still wanted to thank his son.

"I have something else for you, but it's a bit more personal," Taeyong said, "I'll give it to you when we go to bed tonight." It wasn't anything dirty, just not a moment he necessarily wanted to share with anyone but himself and Kun.

"I'll look forward to it," Kun said, nuzzling into Taeyong's hair. He knew the day was going to drag by now that he had something else to look forward to. "Do you want your present now or later?" he asked. Chenle was getting antsy again so he directed the toddler to the last of his small presents and watched him carefully as he tore into the wrapping.

"Let's let Lele finish opening his presents first," Taeyong said, smiling at their son as he tore into the last of the small boxes.

Kun nodded and smiled when Chenle finally pulled the coloring book from the box. His eyes lit up as he flipped through the pages. "Baba, I color now?" he asked, looking up at Kun hopefully. "Of course, baby, let me get you some crayons," Kun said. He carefully shifted Taeyong off of himself so he could stand up. He put the calendar in their bedroom, where it would be safe until he hung it up, and grabbed a package of crayons. Kun set the toddler up at the coffee table and grabbed Taeyong's present on his way back to the couch.

"What is this?" Taeyong asked as he took the box from Kun. He was scared to shake it in case it was breakable.

"This actually is just a little something," Kun said. He felt bad that he didn't have much time to put together a better present for his fiancé, but he was still happy with how this turned out. He had started a scrapbook and filled it with his favorite pictures of Taeyong and Chenle that he had taken. They spanned from when they first got the toddler all the way up until just a few days ago. There weren't many pictures of the three of them, but Kun was sure to sprinkle them in.

"Oh, Kun, this is incredible," Taeyong said as he flipped through the little booklet of pictures. He sniffled, trying to keep himself from crying. Kun's gift just meant a lot to him. It really showed the struggle they'd gone through in their first year as a family.

"I left some blank pages at the end so we can add some pictures with the baby before we have to get a new one," Kun explained. It was dull in comparison to the calendar, and he was glad that Taeyong still loved it.

"I love it," Taeyong said thickly, sniffling still. He didn't know why he was about to cry over a photo album, but he was. It was just so special to be able to see the journey they had made together.

"Oh, babe, please don't cry," Kun said gently. He wrapped his arms around his fiancé and pulled him closer. "I'm glad you love it," he added softly.

Taeyong hugged Kun tightly. "I love it so much," he mumbled into his fiancé's shoulder.

Kun smiled widely; he couldn't wait to add more pictures, especially of the baby. Chenle had wandered over from the coffee table and did his best to sneak a look at the book. "Baba, I wanna see," he said, tapping Taeyong's knee.

Taeyong lifted Chenle up and settled the boy between him and Kun. Setting the book on his lap, he flipped the pages carefully, showing the toddler all of the pictures.

Kun watched as Chenle looked through the book curiously, occasionally jabbing a small finger towards one picture and babbling excitedly about how he remembered what happened that day. When Taeyong had flipped through the whole book, Chenle hopped off the couch and went back to his coloring, his curiosity satisfied.

Taeyong settles against Kun and flipped back toward the beginning of the book. He stopped on a picture of him and Chenle in bed, asleep, both looking like they been crying. Judging on its position in the book, it was taken just after the miscarriage. Taeyong hadn’t even noticed Kun taking pictures then. “You’ve been planning this for a while,” he murmured.

"I've been taking the pictures for a while, but I didn't think about making a scrapbook of them until recently," Kun said, "there are a lot things I don't want to forget and I figured this could be the perfect way to make sure that doesn't happen." They had certainly had their ups and downs and all of those things were what had led them to this point, and Kun didn't want to risk losing any of those moments.

“I’m so proud of Lele,” he said quietly, “he’s come so far and been so strong through everything. I know I say this all the time, but we really are the luckiest parents in the world.”

"He really is the perfect toddler. He's so smart, and so sweet, and I can't wait to see how he is as an older brother," Kun gushed. If given the opportunity he could talk about all day about how much he loved his son and how grateful he was for him.

“We should take a picture now,” Taeyong said, already pulling his phone from his pocket. He took a picture of Chenle bent over the table coloring before calling the boy over to them.

Kun smiled at the idea; they might need a new scrapbook earlier than he anticipated. Chenle put his crayons down and practically ran over to the couch when he was called. He climbed up next to Taeyong slowly, doing his best to be careful.

“Lele, say cheese!” Taeyong said, holding his phone out to take a selfie of the three of them. He took a couple just for good measure.

"Cheese!" Chenle said excitedly. He posed for the pictures and immediately pressed closer to Taeyong after. "Lemme see, lemme see," he said, practically crawling into Taeyong's lap trying to see the phone.

“Careful, Lele, hold on,” Taeyong said, pulling up the photos he’d just taken. He turned the phone toward Chenle, letting the boy look.

Chenle giggled happily as he looked through the pictures. After giving them his seal of approval, he was off the couch and back to his coloring.

“We should get ready for everyone to get here,” Taeyong said. It was time to let Chenle open the Big One.

“Alright, Lele, do you want to open your last present?” Kun asked. Chenle nodded eagerly and finished unwrapping the large box. “Firetruck!” he exclaimed as he pulled the vehicle out of its packaging. Before they knew it, their living room was filled with bright lights, a fake siren, and the joyous laughs of their toddler.

“That thing is already giving me a headache,” Taeyong grumbled. He would definitely relegate the boys to Chenle’s room once Jeno got there, but for now, he was going to head back to bed.

“I’m sorry, babe, but it won’t be bad one he gets it out of his system,” Kun said. He stood from the couch and stretched slowly. Reaching a hand out he helped his fiancé stand as well. “What do you need?”

Taeyong leaned on Kun once the elder helped him up. “Keep him contained in here for a bit so I can sleep the headache off,” he requested.

“Of course,” Kun agreed, “come on, let’s get you to bed.” He wrapped an arm around Taeyong’s waist and carefully guided his fiancé to their bedroom.

Taeyong sighed as he laid down in bed. He hoped that he would finally feel rested after this nap, but he doubted it. “Thanks, babe,” he mumbled.

“Call me if you need anything else,” Kun said. He stole a gentle kiss before heading back into the kitchen to start cooking. “Lele, when you’re done playing, come help me,” he said. The toddler was much too occupied with his truck to even hear Kun.

Taeyong felt bad leaving all the prep work to Kun, but he was just so tired. Every time he tried to sleep, the baby woke up and started obliterating his organs.

Kun quickly lost track of time. He was so focused on cooking that he jumped when Chenle appeared in the doorway. “Help?” the toddler asked. “Sure thing, baby. Come here,” Kun said. He set the toddler up at the kitchen table like he always did when they cooked. He felt bad that Taeyong was so tired, and he hoped his fiancé would be able to get enough rest before everyone came over.

"Baba?" Chenle asked, looking up from his mixing bowl, "why baba so tired?" He was worried about his Taeyong baba and his new baby. Were they getting sick again?

“The baby is growing a lot and that’s making Taeyong baba tired,” Kun said, “they’re both okay, Lele. You don’t have to worry.” He felt bad that Chenle was so worried, and he hoped that was enough to satisfy the toddler.

Chenle frowned. "Baby is bad," he said firmly, "he need be nice to baba."

“No, no, Lele, the baby isn’t bad,” Kun said quickly, “he doesn’t mean to hurt Taeyong baba.” It was cute how much Chenle cared about Taeyong, but Kun was a little worried that he was taking it out on the baby.

"Not fair!" Chenle said, dropping his spoon and crossing his arms. "Lele hurt Baba, get in trouble. Baby hurt Baba, nothing?"

“Oh, Chenle,” Kun murmured. He turned away from the counter and walked over to the toddler. The last thing he needed was a meltdown on Christmas. “It’s okay that the baby makes Taeyong baba tired because that means he’s growing,” Kun explained as he sat down next to his son, “the baby doesn’t know he’s hurting Taeyong baba. It’s just part of what’s happening.” This was much harder to explain to a three year old than Kun anticipated.

"Baby need time out," Chenle insisted, "no one hurt Baba." Even if they baby didn't know, he still needed to learn. Sometimes Chenle didn't know he was hurting Baba, but he still got in trouble.

Kun chuckled and reached over to ruffle Chenle’s hair fondly. “We can’t put him in time out if he’s still growing, Lele,” Kun said, “when Taeyong baba wakes up from his nap you can tell the baby to stop hurting him.” Kun almost wished Taeyong was awake to hear this conversation.

Chenle pouted and got down from his chair. “Gonna go wait,” he announced, marching himself off to join Taeyong in bed. He had to talk to the baby the minute Taeyong woke up or he would forget.

“Oh boy,” Kun mumbled to himself. Poor Taeyong wouldn’t know what to think when he woke up to Chenle discipling the baby. He almost wanted to go watch what would happen, but he had to finish cooking and keep an ear on the door.

Chenle struggled to pull himself up on the bed, but he managed it. Once he was up there, he plopped himself next to Taeyong, glaring at his belly with crossed arms.

Kun had prepared most of the food the evening before so everything was well on its way to being done before anyone had arrived. Taking a short break, he leaned against the counter, glass of water in hand, and trained his ears toward the bedroom. He didn’t dare to venture in yet.

Chenle, to his own dismay, ended up nodding off to sleep where he sat. He toppled to the side and curled up with his thumb in his mouth, exhausted from his exciting morning.

Kun was listening closely for Chenle to start babbling away but he he didn’t hear anything. Abandoning his glass, he ventured into the bedroom for a moment and smiled softly when he saw that the toddler had fallen asleep.

When Chenle woke up next, he was not in his baba’s bed anymore. Instead he was laying with baba on the couch, while baba talked to Uncle J. With a whine, he pushed himself up and pouted.

Kun was glad that Chenle woke up when he did because Taeil and Sicheng were on their way with Jeno. For now he greeted Ten and Yuta at the door and gave the sleepy toddler a chance to wake up.

Taeyong rested a hand on Chenle’s back so he didn’t fall, but the boy wiggled out and down to his hips. “We need to talk, mister,” the boy said, crossing his arms as he imitated his parents. “Excuse me?” Taeyong replied, a little incredulous, but he found that Chenle wasn’t talking to him. No, the boy was talking to his belly.

Kun snickered when Chenle started talking. He quickly ushered a confused looking Ten and Yuta into the kitchen. "Chenle is mad that the baby is making Taeyong so tired so he's going to tell him to be nice," Kun explained between chuckles.

“Stop being mean to my baba!” Chenle said fiercely, “Kun baba gonna put you in time out.” On the other couch, Johnny snorted.

"He's not even here yet and he's already in trouble," Ten joked. "I know," Kun said with a shake of his head, "and Chenle certainly isn't going to let it go, so who only knows what's gonna happen when we bring him home."

“Alright, that’s enough, Lele,” Taeyong said, sitting up with some effort, “we’re not putting the baby in time out.”

Kun finally braved walking back out into the living room and leaned against the doorframe. He hoped Taeil and Sicheng got here soon so Jeno could distract Chenle.

“I get time out when I mean,” Chenle said with a pout, “why not baby?” He didn’t think that was very fair at all.

"Lele, Jeno is going to be here soon. You can show him all your new toys and we can talk about this later," Kun said, trying to distract the toddler. This was much cuter when everyone wasn't here.

“The baby doesn’t know that he’s hurting me,” Taeyong explained patiently, ignoring Kun’s attempts at distraction. It was better to nip this issue in the bud. “He’s still asleep. Do I punish you when you kick in your sleep?” Chenle shook his head.

Kun sighed softly and closed his mouth. He watched Chenle closely, although he didn't think the toddler would go into a meltdown at this point.

“Exactly,” Taeyong said, “and the baby will be here soon anyway. Let’s just focus on Christmas today, okay?”

Kun watched Chenle nod slowly and was relieved when there was a knock on the door. "Great timing," he said when he opened the door. He greeted Taeil, Sicheng, and Jeno and didn't even have a chance to invite them in before Jeno darted past him and over to Chenle.

“Go play with Jeno, baby,” Taeyong said, helping Chenle off the couch. The boy immediately took off with his friend, excited to show off his new toys.

After Kun introduced Taeil and reintroduced Sicheng to everyone, he sat himself down on the couch next to Taeyong. He threaded their fingers together, but kept his attention on Ten and Sicheng, happily listening to them catch up.

Taeyong leaned his head on Kun’s shoulder. “Merry Christmas,” he mumbled.

"Merry Christmas," Kun said softly, "we can let the boys play for a few more minutes before we wrangle them to try and eat." He knew the toddlers would be much more interested in their new toys than dinner so that would be an interesting endeavor.

Taeyong hummed in agreement and settled a hand on his belly. The baby had been pretty quiet all day, not whaling on his bones like he usually did. He had gotten just a few kicks here and there, like the boy had decided to lay off for the holiday.

Kun smiled fondly. "Maybe he'll listen to Chenle and let you get your rest," he joked lightly. While he did wish Taeyong was able to get more sleep, he knew that was a lot to hope for.

“Maybe,” Taeyong said hopefully. It would be really nice to be able to catch up on some rest. He needed it.

Kun sighed and leaned his head against Taeyong's. "Not much longer," he murmured. It seemed like that was all he kept saying, but there really wasn't much more he could do. If there was something he could do to help Taeyong get more sleep, Kun would do it in a heartbeat.

Taeyong sighed and nodded. On the other side of the room, Ten and Yuta were settling into the loveseat. “How’s the next book coming, Tae?” Taeyong shrugged. “It’s not,” he said, “I’m not really finding any ideas lately.”

After a shy nod from Yuta, Ten piped up. "Maybe your next book could be a parent's guide to having a baby. It would really help some of us out," he said, smiling widely. Kun stared at Ten, slightly confused for a moment until it clicked. He gasped quietly and his face broke into a large grin.

Taeyong was confused. "What do you mean, Tennie?" he asked slowly, "I'm a fiction writer."

Kun rolled his eyes and sat back; he wanted to see how long it took for Taeyong to understand. "Well I know that, but it doesn't hurt to broaden your horizons. Besides sometimes the needs of your audience...changes," he answered cryptically. "Oh, just tell them," Yuta whined quietly, but Ten didn't budge.

"Tennie, you're making no sense," Taeyong said again. He was starting to get an inkling of what Ten meant, but he was gonna make the younger man say it.

Ten decided to switch tactics. “Chenle’s certainly not going to bored for a long time considering he’ll have two babies to play with soon.” “Why are you being so dramatic?” Yuta huffed.

"Oh my god, Ten, just spit it out already," Taeyong said in exasperation. He was getting annoyed with this and he could tell Johnny was about to walk out of the room.

“You’re no fun,” Ten said faking a pout. Quickly composing himself after Yuta shot a glare in his direction, he took a deep breath. “We’re having a baby,” he said excitedly. The wide grin found its way back onto his face and he tightened his grip around Yuta’s waist ever so slightly.

"That's amazing, Yuta, congratulations!" Taeyong said happily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Johnny slip out of the room, an odd look on his face. He sighed and painstakingly got up from the couch. "I'll be right back."

Yuta didn’t miss Johnny leaving the room, but he didn’t have time to worry about it as Kun was suddenly standing right in front of them.

Taeyong waddled after Johnny as quickly as he could. "Seo Youngho! I'm seven months pregnant, slow the hell down," he huffed out, glad that Johnny stopped for him. "Are you okay?"

“Are you excited?” Kun asked turning his attention toward Yuta but the older man didn’t seem to hear him at first. “Huh? Oh yeah, just... nervous,” Yuta replied airily. Kun nodded, he understood the feeling of nervousness all too well.

"Every time I see them, I'm just reminded of how much I fucked up during college," Johnny said softly as he stepped into Taeyong's bedroom, "and now this is just...it. I'm never gonna have another chance to get them back now."

“Tennie is absolutely amazing with Chenle so I can’t wait to see how he is with your baby,” Kun gushed. He was so excited their family was growing even more. Even if they weren’t all technically related, it sure felt like it with how close they had gotten over the years.

"I mean, I'm not gonna act like you didn't hurt them a lot. You and Yuta still don't have a relationship anymore because of what happened," Taeyong said bluntly, "but part of making things better is going to be not making it about you. Just...be there for them, especially when Yuta's sick or when the baby's here and they need to just take a nap. This doesn't get to be about you being sad; it's about them feeling like you support them."

Yuta forced a small smile. “Me too,” he said simply. Kun could tell the older man was distracted so he focused his attention on Ten, while still keeping an eye on Yuta. He sighed sadly as he watched the older man wrap his arms around himself and settle more fully into Ten’s lap.

“I know,” Johnny said sadly, stepping forward to wrap his best friend in a hug, “and that’s the hardest part. I wish I could be fully happy for them, but I can’t because I wish I was involved. And I could have been if I had gotten my head out of my ass. I just want to be able to talk to Yuta without him looking...scared of me.”

Yuta kept his eyes trained on the doorway and dropped his head onto Ten’s shoulder. Kun excused himself to try and gather the rowdy toddlers so they could eat. He heard whispering coming from their bedroom but he quickly ducked into Chenle’s room before he could make anything out.

“Here’s what you need to do, okay?” Taeyong said, ready to lay out an entire plan for Johnny. “You need to pull one of them aside and let them know that you’re willing to help them in any way that they need. Between Chenle and the new baby, Kunnie and I won’t be able to help them like Tennie helped us, so it’s on you now. Then you wait. Show them that you’re dependable, that you’re not going to run away again. After the baby’s born, once they’ve had time to settle into parenting, you can approach them and ask to talk, and if they say no then that’s that. You waited almost seven years to try and fix this, so waiting one more shouldn’t be that hard.” Johnny nodded. He didn’t like it, but he knew it was the best thing to do.

Despite Kun’s intentions, he had somehow managed to end up sitting in the middle of Chenle’s floor, while the two toddlers ran circles around him. It seemed like every time he mentioned dinner, the toddlers just took it as an excuse to grab more toys. With a sigh, Kun gave up in the hopes that the toddlers would run out the rest of their energy before they had to eat.

Johnny sighed and nodded. Taeyong was right. He had spent all this time wallowing and feeling bad for himself instead of manning up and apologizing. “You go talk to them,” Taeyong said gently, “I’m gonna rescue Kunnie from the kids.”

Kun heaved a sigh of relief when Taeyong entered the room. He dragged himself to his feet, but didn’t get very far before Chenle latched himself onto his legs.

“C’mon boys, it’s time to eat,” Taeyong said cheerily. He was amused to see Chenle essentially hobbling his fiancé, but he couldn’t offer any help.

Kun eventually pried Chenle off of his legs, with much more difficulty than he anticipated. “Why don’t you boys have a race to see who can wash their hands and get to the table the fastest,” he suggested. Before he even finished, the toddlers were sprinting out of the room, hopefully to the bathroom.

Taeyong smiled as he leaned up to kiss Kun gently. "I'm going to give Johnny a minute to not self-combust in front of Yuta," he said quietly.

Kun sighed softly and wrapped his arms around Taeyong's waist, pulling him as close as he could. "Is he doing okay? Yuta looked like he was about to fall apart the whole time I was out there with him," he said worriedly.

“Johnny? Yeah, he’s just finally realizing that this is his last chance to fix things,” Taeyong said.

Kun hummed in understanding. "I hope they can work everything out," he whispered. He had seen the toll that the tattered relationship had taken on all three men over the years and he hoped it could all be resolved soon.

“It’ll take a while but I think they all at least want to fix it,” Taeyong said, leaning against his fiancé. He hoped that it would work out with all of them happy.

Kun nodded and held his fiancé close. Sometimes he truly forgot how lucky he was that everything had worked out between him and Taeyong. He knew they should check on the toddlers soon, but he was sure they would be okay for another couple of minutes.

Johnny was nervous as he went to talk to Ten and Yuta. Even though he saw Ten on a fairly regular basis because of Chenle, it was still hard for him to really talk to the younger man. He hung back a little, eyeing the small crowd around Yuta anxiously.

Yuta picked his head up when Johnny reentered the room. He felt Ten's grip on his waist subconsciously tighten, but he didn't react. Instead, he quickly dropped his eyes to the floor and debated whether getting up to talk to Johnny was a good idea.

Johnny waited until the crowd had dispersed a little bit, called into the dining room for dinner. Soon, it was just the three of them left. “So, uh, congratulations,” Johnny said awkwardly, not quite able to look at Yuta or Ten.

Yuta finally pulled himself off of Ten's lap, but didn't stray far from his boyfriend's side. "Thanks, Johnny," he said softly. Ten kept quiet, but watched Johnny curiously, wondering what exactly the older man wanted; he knew it had to be something more than a simple congratulations.

“I just. Uh, I wanted to say. That. Well.” Johnny took a deep breath to sort himself out. “If you guys ever need anything, let me know. I know I’m not the first choice, obviously, but with Kun and Taeyong having another baby, I figured...I should...offer.” He trailed off awkwardly.

Yuta's eyes widened and he stared at Johnny. The last thing he expected was for the older man to offer to help them. Before he could even begin to formulate words, Ten had opened his mouth to answer. "We'll keep that in mind. Thank you for the offer; it means a lot," he said pleasantly. It was nice to know that Johnny offered to help them out, but Ten wasn't quite sure he was willing to let the older man back into their lives yet.

Johnny nodded awkwardly. He felt like he needed to say something else, but he wasn’t sure what.

"Come on, they're probably waiting for us," Ten said, breaking the silence. He didn't want to drag this conversation out any longer than it needed to be. He led the way into the dining room to join the rest of their friends for dinner.

Taeyong loved his friends, but by the time everyone was gone, he was more than happy to be alone with Kun. Chenle had long since passed out on the couch and Taeyong was content to leave him there while he and Kun cleaned up.

It felt weird now that the apartment was so quiet, but Kun wasn't complaining. "Babe, why don't you go relax with Chenle while I finish up the kitchen and than I can meet you two in the living room so we can figure out where to put all of Chenle's presents?" he suggested. He knew Taeyong liked to help, but he wanted to keep his fiancé off his feet as much as possible.

Taeyong would normally protest, but he felt very sore after moving around all day. He kissed Kun’s cheek and waddled off to the bedroom. He grabbed his other gift for Kun then went to the living room to sit with Chenle.

Kun took his time cleaning the kitchen, letting Taeyong and Chenle have some time together, without Chenle trying to reprimand the baby. When the dishes were washed and put away and their kitchen was relatively back in order, Kun made his way into the living room. He sighed as he looked at the pile of toys they had to find homes for. "Do you want to leave some of these out here or put them all in Chenle's room?" he asked after a moment.

“I don’t think there’s room for all of them in Chenle’s room,” Taeyong said with a snort. His fingers carded through his son’s hair absently, hoping to keep the boy asleep.

Kun smiled fondly. He moved a few of the smaller toys into his son’s room and left the rest in the living room. When he was done, he took a seat on the couch next to his fiancé. “I think today went well,” he said softly.

“It did,” Taeyong agreed, “but there’s still something you haven’t opened.” He pulled the little box out of his pocket and passed it over to Kun.

Kun had completely forgotten about the other present Taeyong had promised him. He carefully took the box from his fiancé and pulled the lid off. He gasped quietly when he saw what was inside and gently lifted the necklace out of the box. “Oh my God, Tae, this is gorgeous,” he breathed.

“It’s real jade,” Taeyong said, “I had Minghao get it made for me a few weeks ago.” The little carved owl dangled from Kun’s fingers and glinted in the sunlight.

Kun stared fondly at the necklace for a few moments before finally pulling his eyes away to look at Taeyong. “Thank you, babe, this is absolutely perfect,” he said. His fiancé was so incredibly thoughtful and he really didn’t know what he did to deserve him. After finally putting the necklace on, he leaned over to kiss Taeyong sweetly.

“I’m glad you like it,” Taeyong said when they pulled away from each other, just as a little foot tapped his rib cage. “I think someone else likes it too.”

Kun smiled widely. “You like the owl too, baby?” he asked, “when you get here we’ll get plenty of owls to play with. How does that sound?”

Taeyong smiled and rubbed his belly gently. Today had been a really good day and he was glad that he’d been able to spend it with his family.


	24. Chapter 24

Kun had never been more grateful that is birthday was on a weekend. He knew Taeyong would have made him take the day off regardless, but he never liked the idea of losing a day of work just because it was his birthday. What he didn't feel guilty about was sleeping in, which was exactly what he was doing.

Taeyong was glad that Kun had decided to sleep in on his birthday. It gave him and Chenle the time to get up and make him breakfast in bed.

Kun was surprised and almost a little worried when Taeyong wasn't next to him when he woke up. He knew his fiancé was probably planning something, but he still couldn't help but be nervous. "Tae?" he called down the hallway.

Taeyong smiled softly as he heard Kun calling his name. "Lele, I think Baba's awake," he whispered as he plated the food, "can you go keep him in bed for me?"

Kun was just about to walk down the hallway when Chenle came tearing into the room. "Happy Birthday, baba!" he said excitedly. Kun scooped his son up and placed a big kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, baby! Is Taeyong baba in the kitchen?" He didn't get more than two steps towards the door before Chenle erupted into terrified shouts. "Hey, hey, Lele, it's okay. Baby, what's wrong?" Kun asked quickly, trying to calm the toddler down. "Bed," Chenle mumbled. "Chenle, if you wanted to lay in bed you just have to ask," Kun said gently as he climbed back into bed. He laid on his back; his baby still wrapped tightly in his arms.

Taeyong carefully shuffled down the hallway with Kun's breakfast on the tray. He smiled as he saw Chenle wrapped tightly in Kun's arms, his cheeks squished against the man's chest. "Happy birthday, Kunnie," he said as he shuffled into the room.

Kun sat back up when he saw Taeyong enter the room. He quickly shifted Chenle off his lap so he could take the tray from his fiancé. "Oh, babe, what did you do?" he asked. Obviously his fiancé had gotten up early to make breakfast and he had no idea how he hadn't woken up. "This smells delicious, thank you."

"I just thought you could use a morning off," Taeyong said coyly, "don't worry, I had Lele help me."

Kun smiled softly. "Were you a good helper?" he asked his son, already knowing full well what the answer would be. Chenle giggled quietly and after shooting a quiet look at Taeyong, nodded quietly. "Well," Kun began much more dramatically, "there's _no_ way I'm going to finish all of this so I hope there's _someone_ in this house that would be willing to help me." Chenle just giggled louder and crawled closer to Kun so he could sit next to him. Kun looked up at Taeyong and shifted into the middle of the bed so his fiancé could sit with him as well.

Taeyong painstakingly sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled at Kun. "Happy birthday, baby," he said again, kissing his fiancé's cheek.

"Thanks, babe," Kun said softly, "how are you feeling?" He finally began digging into his eggs and hummed happily. Chenle wiggled against his side and Kun turned to carefully feed the boy a small piece of egg.

“Good,” Taeyong said with a smile, “the baby is nice and calm today.” He’d felt a few small pokes, but none of the abuse to his organs that he had for the last few days.

"Hopefully he'll give you a little break today," Kun said, "have you eaten anything yet?" Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small hand reaching toward the tray and he turned back just in time to catch Chenle about to snag a piece of toast. The toddler quickly retracted his hand and giggled at the fact that he was caught. "Here, baby," Kun said after he ripped a small piece and handed it to the toddler.

Taeyong nodded. He had snacked a little bit on leftovers from the night before while he and Chenle were cooking. It hadn’t been a ton, but it was enough to tide him over.

Kun ate slowly, savoring his breakfast and sharing small bits with Chenle. When he was nearly done he turned his attention back towards Taeyong. "I don't think I can finish this, do you want the rest?" he asked. He knew he was being over worried, but he wanted to make sure that Taeyong was eating enough for both him and the baby.

“Oh, no baby, I’m full,” Taeyong said, shaking his head. He and the baby really were all set for once.

Kun nodded and turned his attention back to the tray of food, Chenle was more than happy to help him finish it off and he set the tray to the side so he could carefully climb out of bed. "Thank you for breakfast, babe," Kun said gratefully, "come on, Lele, let's go wash these dishes and then pick something fun to do." Chenle bounded over to the edge of the bed and let Kun help him to the floor.

"What do you want to do today, Kunnie?" Taeyong asked as he carefully stood back up, one hand resting on his belly.

Kun glanced quickly out the window and frowned when he saw some small snowflakes beginning to fall. "Well it's certainly much too cold to do anything outside so how about a nice lazy day in? We can bake some cookies later tonight and watch a movie in bed," he suggested. He wanted Taeyong to take it as easy as possible and he was never opposed to a nice quiet day with his boys.

"Does that sound good to you, Lele?" Taeyong asked, turning to smile at the boy. They had been having an exciting few days, so he hoped Chenle wouldn't be opposed to toning it down for a bit.

"Play?" Chenle asked, looking between his fathers. "Sure, baby, how about you go bring all your blocks into the living room and we'll see who can build the best tower? Taeyong baba and the baby can be the judge. How does that sound?" Chenle nodded in agreement and took off for his bedroom. "I'm going to go was the dishes and I'll meet you in the living room," he said, picking up the tray from the bed.

Taeyong waddled after Chenle and carefully settled himself on the couch. He groaned happily as he settled back into the cushions and watched his son play.

Kun quickly washed all of the dishes and left them in the rack to dry. When he made his way into the living room, he saw that Chenle had set himself in the middle of the floor, surrounded completely by all of his blocks. He carefully pushed the coffee table out of the way and sat down next to his son. "Okay are you ready?" he asked the toddler.

"You've gotta split them up evenly," Taeyong said, gesturing vaguely. If he was going to judge this, he was going to do it properly.

Kun rolled his eyes fondly, but helped Chenle sort out the blocks regardless. The toddler was as helpful as he could be with counting, and his effort was adorable. Once they both had an even amount, he looked back up at Taeyong for approval.

"Should I time you? Make it really fair?" Taeyong teased.

"Oh now you're being really mean. Shouldn't we at least get a practice round?" Kun asked, faking a pout. Meanwhile, Chenle had already long forgotten about the challenge and was beginning to build his own tower.

"You should focus on catching up," Taeyong said, nodding toward Chenle, "our little architect is already halfway done."

Kun smiled when he realized how much Chenle already built. He ended up practically replicating the toddler's tower and he waited to see how long it would take for his son to notice. Chenle wasn't paying attention until he and Kun ended up reaching for the same block. He looked up and gasped when he saw Kun's tower. "Baba, copy!" he exclaimed, pointing dramatically and staring at Taeyong, "no fair."

Taeyong couldn't help but laugh. "Kunnie, copying is bad," he scolded teasingly, "I might have to disqualify you."

Kun bit his lip to hold back a laugh. "Alright, alright. Lele, you win this round. What do you say we knock these over and start again?" he asked. Chenle's pout was gone immediately, satisfied that he had won. He promptly kicked his tower over, laughing gleefully as the blocks tumbled around the room. "Careful, baby," Kun warned. He carefully dismantled his tower, with some help from the tower destroying aficionado.

Taeyong laughed and pulled out his phone to record Chenle's antics, destructive as they were. Chenle was so cute; Taeyong just hoped he stayed this way when he had to share all the attention.

Kun began quickly building little towers of only a few blocks high in various places around him, encouraging Chenle to destroy them. The toddler ran circles around Kun destroying the towers almost as fast as Kun could build them. As he ran towards the next one, he stepped on a block that moved beneath his foot, causing him to trip. Luckily, Kun was paying enough attention that he was able to snag the toddler before he fell on any other blocks and pull him into his lap. "Alright, I think that's enough destroying," he said, which was unsurprisingly met with another pout.

"Lele, you've gotta be careful," Taeyong admonished gently. He would hate himself if he instigated something that hurt his baby.

Chenle nodded sadly and snuggled closer to Kun. "Sorry," he mumbled, voice muffled. "Oh, baby, it's okay. We just don't want you to get hurt," Kun said quickly. He situated Chenle more comfortably on his lap and rubbed the boy's back. "Done with blocks," the toddler said after a few moments. "Alright, let's get these cleaned up and find something else to play with okay?" Kun said. Chenle nodded but didn’t budge from his spot on Kun's lap.

"Lele, do you want to come snuggle with me and baby?" Taeyong offered, knowing he was stuck on the couch for the next few hours.

Chenle perked up and that and carefully uncurled himself from the ball he was sitting in. He held onto Kun's hand tightly as he carefully walked across the floor to the couch. After getting a boost, he slowly crawled over to Taeyong and curled into his father's side. One tiny hand clutched onto his shirt, while the other gently traced small circles around his belly.

Taeyong smiled gently as he settled an arm around Chenle's back. He felt bad that he'd left Kun to clean up on his own, but avoiding a tantrum was more important.

Kun was glad that Chenle stayed calm. The toddler really did love playing with his brother already and that just made Kun all the more excited for the baby to get here. He managed to clean up the blocks with only two near slips of the tongue as he stepped on a couple that blended into the carpet. Soon enough the living room was back in working order and Kun sat himself in the middle of the floor again. Chenle was still happily playing hide and seek with his brother so Kun sat back and enjoyed just watching his boys, a fond smile pulling at his lips.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle poke gently at his stomach. It made him happy that his baby was obviously already so in love with his brother.

Chenle had poked around all of the baby's favorite spots to play, but nothing happened. With a frown he looked up at Taeyong. "Why baby so quiet?" he asked, "no play?" He couldn't understand why the baby wouldn't want to play with him, especially now.

"He's probably sleeping," Taeyong said, resting a hand on his stomach gently. He moved it around until he found a foot floating near his appendix. He took Chenle's hand and guided it to the tiny protrusion.

Kun slowly peeled himself from the floor, his back was starting to get sore, and carefully replaced the coffee table. He lowered himself into a chair and continued to watch Chenle play with the baby, his smile never fading. Chenle had a smile of his own plastered across his face when Taeyong guided his hand to the baby's foot. "Hi, baby," he whispered, not wanting to wake his brother up.

“Can you believe there’s only a month left, Kunnie?” Taeyong asked, glancing up at his fiancé.

Kun shook his head. “I really can’t. I know it’s so soon, but it feels like forever away,” he said softly. It felt like just yesterday that Kun had found out about the baby and he had no idea where the months had gone.

“It seems like it went by so fast,” Taeyong said. He had felt so scared and alone at first, but now he only felt loved. His little family was getting bigger and he couldn’t be happier.

This time Kun nodded. “It really did,” he whispered. He stood himself up from the chair and walked across the room so he could take a seat next to Taeyong. He kissed his fiancé’s temple gently and intertwined their fingers.

Taeyong smiled and squeezed his fiancé’s hand gently. This was Kun’s day and he’d somehow ended up in the middle again, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. All Kun wanted to do was surround him with love and Taeyong was finally truly accepting that.

Kun and Taeyong had gone on many a fun adventure for Kun’s birthday, but there was nothing like being home with his family. “What do you say we have some lunch, get the little one to bed, and have some alone time while Chenle naps?” he asked quietly.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Taeyong said as he sat up, “What do you want for lunch?”

Chenle whined when Taeyong sat up. “Do you want to help me make some lunch, Lele?” Kun asked as he stood up. The toddler nodded and stood himself up on the couch, arms outstretched towards Kun. “We haven’t had hot pot in a while,” he commented, scooping the toddler into his arms.

Taeyong grunted as he finally got off the couch. “Hot pot sounds good,” he said, “let’s see if I remember the recipe.”

“Oh, babe, I can cook,” Kun said, “I don’t want you on your feet unnecessarily.” He knew Taeyong didn’t like when he fussed over him, but he couldn’t help it.

“No, no, it’s your birthday,” Taeyong said, already waddling toward the kitchen, “you should relax.”

“But I’m not eight months pregnant,” Kun countered gently. He followed Taeyong into the kitchen, keeping a close eye on his fiancé.

“I managed breakfast, I think I can manage lunch,” Taeyong said, already starting to gather what he knew he needed.

Kun sighed and put Chenle down. "Do you a least want a trusty assistance?" he bargained. He knew Taeyong would probably just have Chenle help again, but Kun really hated the idea of doing absolutely nothing.

“Oh, I could always use my trusty little helper,” Taeyong said, smiling as Chenle clung to his leg.

Kun huffed. "You are so stubborn sometimes," he commented lightly. If this was what Taeyong wanted to do, there was no use in arguing so Kun stepped out of the way and leaned against the counter.

“Can you bring Lele a stool?” Taeyong asked as he started rinsing vegetables. He couldn’t quite bend down to reach it anymore.

“Sure,” Kun agreed easily. He grabbed the stool from its spot in the closet and set it up next to Taeyong. Chenle immediately hopped on and waited patiently for instructions.

Taeyong finished rinsing the vegetables and started to carefully chop them up. He made sure that his pile on the cutting board ended up mixed. “Lele, can you sort these into different bowls for me?”

Chenle readily agreed and reached for the bowls. They were set a little too far back on the counter so he pulled himself up so he could sit on the counter. "No, Lele, don't climb," Kun said quickly, practically rushing over to the toddler. He set his son back on the stool and dragged the bowls over so he could reach.

Taeyong continued chopping, taking care to not get near Chenle's hands with the knife. Once he was done with that, he left Chenle to his devices as he moved onto the next step.

Chenle sorted the rest of the vegetables with minimal prompting from Kun. Kun had to admit even though the toddler always cooked with him, he really was quite a good helper for how young he was. "All done," Chenle announced excited after he dropped the last carrot into a bowl.

"Thank you, baby," Taeyong praised as mixed up the broth on the stove, "can you help Kun baba move them to the table and put out all the dishes?"

Chenle smiled proudly and leapt off the stool onto the floor. Kun sucked in a breath, and was relieved when the toddler stay on his feet. He handed the bowls one at a time to Chenle who walked them to the table. Kun carried the bowls that could break, but had Chenle help with the utensils. Once the table was set, Chenle climbed back onto the stool and tapped Taeyong's side gently.

“That’s all, Lele,” Taeyong said, “watch out, this pot is really hot.” He didn’t want to risk hitting the boy with the burning pot of broth, so he waited until Chenle was seated at the table to move it.

"Careful, babe," Kun said worriedly, taking a step towards Taeyong, "I can take that." He already had his arms outstretched, ready to take the hot pot from his fiancé.

"Kunnie, I'm more likely to drop it handing it off to you," Taeyong said with an exasperated sigh, "please just sit down so I don't accidentally burn someone." He loved his fiancé but, really, he wasn't an invalid.

Kun sighed softly, but took a seat anyway. He eyed Taeyong nervously and was relieved when the pot made it to the table without incident. Chenle immediately sat up on his knees and braced himself on the table so he could see what was inside the pot.

Taeyong sat down in his chair with a groan. "What veggies do you want, Lele?" he asked, reaching for the boy's bowl.

Chenle scrunched up his nose at the question. He didn't mind sorting the vegetables, but eating them was a lot less enjoyable. Kun chuckled at Chenle's reaction and began filling his own bowl with bok choy, carrots, and watercress.

"I promise they'll be a lot more tasty with the soup on them," Taeyong said, "you like carrots, right?"

Chenle pouted, but nodded. He pushed himself up to stand so he could see the bowls on the other side of the table.

Taeyong put some carrots in Chenle's bowl, along with some other things he knew the boy wouldn't complain about too much. He ladled the broth over it and carefully set the bowl in from of the boy. "Wait until it cools," he instructed.

Chenle plopped back down in his chair. He stared at the bowl for a few minutes before his curiosity got the better of him. Slowly, he dipped one finger into the broth, and yelped when he realized how hot it still was. He quickly stuck his finger in his mouth, still whimpering.

"Oh, baby, I told you it was hot," Taeyong said with a sigh. He pulled Chenle's finger from his mouth and helped the boy down from his chair to go run his finger under cold water.

Chenle followed behind Taeyong, holding his injured hand closely. "Baba, it hurts," he whined, already on the brink of tears.

"I know, baby, it'll be okay," Taeyong said as he nudged the stool over to the sink and helped Chenle up. He ran the water on cool and held Chenle's hand under it. "Kun-ah, can you go get the first aid kit?"

“Sure,” Kun replied. He disappeared into the bathroom and in the few minutes he had been gone, Chenle had dissolved into tears. “Oh, baby, it’s okay,” he said soothingly as he set the kit down on the counter and walked over to his son.

Taeyong lifted Chenle to sit on the counter next to the first aid kit. He carefully dried the boy's hand then took the burn gel out of the kit. He spread a minimal amount on a bandaid and bandaged up Chenle's finger. "There, all better," he said.

Chenle sniffled and examined his bandaged finger. It still hurt, but if Taeyong baba said that it was all better than it was all better. "Thanks, baba," he mumbled quietly, eyes still trained on his finger. Kun gently wiped away the stray tears from Chenle's cheek with his thumb.

"You're gonna be careful next time, right?" Taeyong asked as he moved aside. Kun could help Chenle down, since Taeyong couldn't really hold him at the moment.

"Promise," Chenle said sincerely. He reached out for Kun when his father walked towards him. Kun felt the boys small fingers grip tightly onto his shirt and didn't try to put him down yet. Instead he let the boy stay cuddled on his lap as he took his seat.

Taeyong closed the first aid kit, leaving it on the counter to put away later. "Okay, I think it should be cool enough now," he said as he sat back down, "you wanna try again, Lele?"

Chenle didn’t want to get in trouble for saying no, but he was really too scared to try it. “Here I’ll have some first and then you try,” Kun said. He shifted the toddler to one knee before taking a bite of the cooled down soup. When he was done, he offered some to the toddler.

Taeyong smiled at his fiancé as he started eating his own soup. He was always struck with a sense of pride when he saw how good Kun was with their son.

Kun saw Taeyong smiling at him out of the corner of his eye and snuck a shy glance at his fiancé. “Alright, Lele, why don’t you sit in your own seat for the rest of lunch,” Kun said. Luckily the toddler didn’t protest and the rest of lunch proceeded smoothly, including clean up.

Once they were done with lunch, Taeyong went to get Chenle ready for a nap while Kun cleaned up the kitchen. He ended up letting the boy lay in their bed while he set up a movie.

Kun wasn't surprised to find Chenle laying in the middle of their bed, curled into Taeyong's side, when he walked into the bedroom. He smiled softly and crawled in to lay next to his son. "What are we watching?" he asked.

“Lele wants to watch a princess movie but he wanted to let you choose since it’s your birthday,” Taeyong said with a soft smile. Against his side, the boy nodded tiredly.

Kun knew Chenle would be asleep within the first fifteen minutes of the movie regardless, but he decided to pick his favorite anyway. "How about Snow White? Does that sounds okay, Lele?" he asked.

Chenle nodded quietly, sticking his thumb in his mouth as he pressed closer to Taeyong. One of his hands was bunched into his father's shirt and Taeyong grunted when the baby kicked that same spot.

"Baby woke up just in time for the movie," Kun commented quietly. Chenle perked up a little when he felt the baby kick against his hand, but kept his thumb in his mouth.

"He's saying hi to you, Lele," Taeyong said with a smile, rubbing his older son's back. He paused for a moment. That was the first time he had really thought of the baby as his son and of Chenle as an older brother.

Chenle smiled widely. "Hi, baby," he mumbled around his thumb. He stared at Taeyong's belly, waiting for a response to his greeting. Kun smiled fondly and laid down more comfortably. Watching his son was better than any movie, especially today.

Taeyong smiled when he felt a few more taps over there then some on the other side. The baby must have been stretching.

"I'm excited for the movie too," Chenle said when he felt more taps against his hand. Kun's smiled widened and he snuck a look at Taeyong. Despite the toddler's claimed enthusiasm, his eyelids were already beginning to droop.

Taeyong smiled happily. Chenle was going to be such a good big brother, he just knew it.

Chenle sleepily snuggled as close to Taeyong as he could manage, and kept his tight grip on his father's shirt. Within the next few minutes the toddler was fast asleep, and Kun reached over to shut the movie off. "Are you gonna try and get some rest, babe?" Kun asked quietly.

"Maybe," Taeyong said, "but I would rather talk with you. I feel like we don't get to talk as much lately."

Kun sighed softly. The only alone time they really got together was at night or when Chenle was taking a nap, but both were usually spent sleeping. Between work for Kun and the baby keeping Taeyong up, they were both exhausted by the end of the day. "I know. Even though we're constantly together I don't really realize how much I...miss you," he said quietly. He knew it was selfish, but sometimes he wished he could have just one day with Taeyong, but that was going to have to wait for a long time.

"And if we do get to talk, it's usually just about work," Taeyong said with a sigh. He missed getting down time with his fiancé. "And in a month, we probably won't even have that."

Kun nodded sadly. "It'll all be worth it," he said trying to convince himself more than anything. He didn't think having kids would put such a strain on his and Taeyong's relationship, but here he was. "How is your new book coming?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"It's coming," Taeyong said with a shrug, "I haven't really been able to focus on it in a while just because of everything that's been going on, with the holidays and whatnot."

"I'm sure Chenle would love to help you out, but I'm not sure how well that would go," Kun said, chuckling quietly. He looked down at this son, and ran his fingers through his hair fondly.

"It's okay, my editor understands the circumstances," Taeyong said, "what about you? Are you excited?"

"That's good to hear," Kun said softly, "of course I'm excited. I just want to meet him already. Although I do have to admit, I am going to miss this." He loved watching his son grow over the last several months, but he did feel bad about how uncomfortable Taeyong had been.

"I think I am too," Taeyong said, looking down at his belly, "I'm gonna miss having him so close to me."

Kun wished he understood, but the only alone time he ever got with the baby was when Taeyong was taking a nap, which certainly wasn't even close to the same thing. He had to admit he was jealous of how much time Taeyong got to spend with the baby, but he would never admit that aloud. "I'm sure he's going to love snuggling with you just as much as Chenle does," he said quietly. He could already see the baby snuggled into Taeyong's chest and it made his heart swell.

"I've known about him since June and I'm still not at all prepared for him to be here," Taeyong admitted, "he's going to be so small and I'm scared that I'm going to do something wrong."

"Oh, babe, you're going to be absolutely perfect with him. Don't worry about doing something wrong; that's part of being parents. He's our first baby so we're bound to make a few mistakes, but we're in this together," Kun said supportively.

"Thanks, Kunnie," Taeyong said softly. He was glad that he had Kun by his side; he couldn't imagine going through something like this alone.

Kun smiled and leaned over so he could gently kiss Taeyong's cheek, careful not to squish Chenle. "I love you," he whispered as he pulled away.

Taeyong was about to reply when he ended up with a foot in his diaphragm. "I think baby loves you too," he groaned, coughing, "as do I."

Kun's smile tightened. "I wish he didn't make you so uncomfortable," he said quietly. Of course he knew that there wasn't anything either of them could do, but he still felt a pang of guilt whenever the baby kicked Taeyong particularly hard.

“It’s okay, he’s worth it,” Taeyong said with a soft smile. No matter how much the baby hurt him, he would always love him unconditionally.

Kun sighed quietly. Next to him Chenle whined sleepily and blinked his eyes open. He stretched for a moment, pushing his feet against Kun's thigh, before setting back against Taeyong. "Hi, baby," Kun said softly. Chenle whined again and did his best to hide his face in Taeyong's side.

Taeyong brushed a hand through Chenle’s hair. “Still sleepy, baby?”

Chenle nodded against Taeyong's side and kept his face hidden. He laid there for a few minutes and huffed when he wasn't able to fall back asleep. Eventually he crawled up the bed so he could tuck himself under Taeyong's arm and lean on his chest instead.

Taeyong smiled and held Chenle securely. "Are you excited for the baby to come?" he asked.

Chenle nodded against Taeyong's chest. "What are you going to do with the baby when he gets here?" Kun asked. He had asked Chenle this question a million times, but the toddler's answer never failed to make him smile. "We're gonna race cars, and go to the park, and play with Jeno, and watch movies," the toddler rambled.

Taeyong smiled softly. Chenle was definitely going to be disappointed when he realized that the baby couldn’t do those things right away.

Kun reached over and ruffled Chenle's hair fondly. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was to be surrounded by his beyond perfect family on his birthday.


	25. Chapter 25

A few weeks passed and Taeyong went in for his last check-up before the baby would be arriving. He was as strong as ever; it was actually Taeyong the doctor was worried about. “I’m a little concerned about your blood pressure,” the doctor said, looking at his chart, “your operation is scheduled for February 5th and I’d like to keep you on bed rest until then. It’s only a week and a half.”

It made Kun nervous to hear that Taeyong would have to go on bed rest because of his blood pressure. He was lucky to be able to take the next two weeks off of work to keep a closer eye on his fiancé and make sure he stayed in bed.

Taeyong honestly wasn’t all that upset to be on bed rest. He’d been more than sore lately and a week in bed sounded like just what he needed.

They wrapped up quickly at the doctor's and before they knew it, they were back home and thanking Ten for watching Chenle. "Lele, what do you say to having a movie night?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Taeyong hobbled his way to bed and laid down with a groan. “C’mon, Lele, let’s watch a movie in bed,” he said.

Chenle eagerly ran over to the bed and did his best to scramble on. With a little help from Kun, he was successful and carefully crawled over to lay down next to Taeyong. Kun snagged Taeyong's laptop off the desk and scrolled through Netflix trying to find something new.

“Hi, Lele, how was your day?” Taeyong asked, kissing the boy on the forehead. “Did you have fun with Tennie?

Chenle nodded immediately. "We played in the snow!" he said excitedly. Kun would have been a lot more worried about that had he not seen the countless layers that Chenle had obviously worn, hanging up to dry.

“Whoa, that sounds so fun, Lele!” Taeyong said excitedly. He wished he could have been playing in the snow with his son.

Chenle giggled happily. "We even built a snowman," he added. Kun smiled fondly and decided it would be an appropriate day to watch Frozen. He set the movie up and waited for Chenle to finish telling them about his day.

Taeyong smiled as Chenle continued to babble about his day with Ten. Before long, he found himself falling asleep even before the boy was finished.

Kun was glad to see Taeyong getting some rest. Chenle didn't see to mind in the slightest and was happy to continue telling Kun and the baby all about playing in the snow. When he was finally done, Kun pressed play on the laptop. Chenle stayed pressed against Taeyong but he grabbed onto Kun's shirt, making sure he didn't go anywhere.

Taeyong woke briefly when Chenle moved away from him toward Kun as he finally fell asleep. He was glad for some final quiet family time before everything turned crazy again. With a happy sigh, he fell back asleep.

Chenle woke up bright and early on the first of February. He had been told time and time again that the baby wasn't coming until February and it was finally here. As quickly as he could manage he climbed out of bed, and booked it into his fathers' room. With a little bit of a struggle he pulled himself up and scrambled over to Taeyong. He was almost as excited for today as he was for Christmas.

Taeyong grunted awake when when Chenle landed on his lap. “Baby, why are you up?” He asked tiredly, voice hoarse, “it’s so early.”

"It's Feb'uary! I wanna meet baby!" Chenle said excitedly. He was practically shaking with excitement and could barely contain himself. It was completely beyond him how Taeyong didn't share his enthusiasm.

Taeyong groaned and reached out to try and calm Chenle down. "Lele, the baby won't be here for another couple of days," he explained.

Chenle froze and stared at Taeyong. "But...but baba, you said Feb'uary!" he cried. How could the baby not be here yet?

"February is an entire month, Lele," Taeyong mumbled, already halfway asleep again. Lucky Kun was sleeping through all of this. "Just a few more days, okay?"

Chenle crossed his arms and huffed in frustration. "Don't wanna wait," he mumbled grumpily, glaring at Taeyong.

"Chenle," Taeyong said sternly, "do not glare at me like that please. There's nothing I can do, so you just have to be patient."

Chenle tightened his arms and didn't move. "I don't  _ wanna _ wait," he said again, settling himself down more comfortably. 

"Chenle, if you're gonna be a brat, I'm gonna have Kun baba put you back in your own bed," Taeyong said firmly. He was not in the mood for nonsense this morning. The baby had been pounding on his ribs all night and he was exhausted.

"No, no, no!" Chenle said defiantly. He uncrossed his arms just long enough to crawl to the end of the bed and settle himself down again. He snuck a look over his shoulder to see if Taeyong was still watching him.

With a sigh, Taeyong reached out and smacked Kun’s shoulder, not hard but just enough to wake his fiancé up. “Someone needs a time out,” he mumbled.

Kun jumped awake when he felt Taeyong smack his shoulder. "What's wrong, babe?" he asked worriedly. His heart was racing a mile a minute and he still hadn't registered what Taeyong had said.

"Put Lele in time out please," Taeyong mumbled again, "I'm not dealing with his attitude right now."

Kun sighed and nodded. "Come on, Lele, let's go back to bed," he said as he slowly pulled himself out of bed. "No! Wanna meet baby!" he screamed, crawling as far away from Kun as possible. "Chenle, I said we're going to your own bed," Kun said in Mandarin. He didn't dare raise his voice, but he knew he had to get the toddler to his own room quickly, so Taeyong could get some more rest. Chenle froze and stared at his father before slowly crawling towards him; Kun baba never spoke Mandarin unless he was really serious.

Taeyong blinked a few times but he was fast asleep before Kun and Chenle had even left the room.

"What's going on, baby?" Kun asked sadly as he carried the toddler down the hallway. He closed the door to Chenle's room behind him and sat on the bed. He held his son close and gently rubbed his back, hoping a meltdown wasn't coming.

"Wanna see baby!" Chenle said insistently, "promised!" He just wanted to meet his brother and he didn't understand why Tae baba was mad at him.

"I know, Lele, I know. He's going to be here in just a few days and then you'll get to meet him. He just has a little more growing to do until he's ready to meet everybody," Kun said soothingly. Taeyong and he were just as anxious to meet the baby and he couldn't blame Chenle for being upset that the baby wasn't here yet.

"But..." Chenle said, lip wobbling, "Feb'uary!" Tae baba and Kun baba had promised him that the baby would be here by now. He had waited long enough!

"Oh, sweetie, it's okay," Kun said quickly, "he's going to come in February, just not right now. He'll be here on the fifth, okay? Just a few more days and the baby will be here." This was like telling the toddler he would have to wait a few more days for Christmas to come.

Chenle pouted sadly. He really wanted to play with the baby already. "Tae baba mad?" he asked quietly.

“No, baby, he’s not mad,” Kun assured the toddler, “he’s just very tired. I told you already that you have to be extra nice to Taeyong baba and that means no more waking him up early and no more attitude, okay?”

Chenle pouted even more. "Baba sad?" he asked next.

"No, Lele, he's not sad. I'm sure if you're extra gentle and extra quiet; he wouldn't mind if you came and slept for a few more hours in our bed. Would you like to do that?" Kun offered. He knew Taeyong would have his head in the morning for giving in to the toddler, but it was hard to resist when he was so upset.

Chenle nodded vigorously. As excited as he was for the baby to come, he wanted to spend time with his baba even more.

"Alright baby, let's go," Kun said, slowly standing up from the bed, "you promise to be patient and wait nicely for a few more days for the baby to come?" he asked quietly. He hoped Chenle at least understood that he had to wait a longer.

Chenle nodded, tucking his head into Kun's neck as he stuck his thumb into his mouth. He was excited to lay with his babas but he hoped Tae baba wasn't mad at him anymore.

Satisfied, Kun slowly rentered their bedroom. He carefully climbed into bed and laid Chenle down so he was in the middle. "Get a little more sleep, baby," he whispered. Kun had never been more grateful he had the day off.

Chenle snuggled right up to Taeyong's side, making his older father crack his eyes open. "Calm now, Lele?" he asked tiredly as he wrapped an arm around the boy's back.

Chenle nodded, happy that Taeyong baba wasn't mad at him. He didn't even have time to apologize before he was out like a light. Kun smiled fondly and let his own eyes fall closed. Hopefully the rest of their day would go a lot smoother than this morning had.

Taeyong held Chenle even closer, carefully pulling the boy's thumb from his mouth before closing his own eyes again.

Kun wasn't surprised that both of his boys were still asleep when he woke up. He carefully rolled himself out of bed hoping he could get ready and at least get breakfast started before Taeyong woke up.

Taeyong woke again a few hours later feeling much more rested. He felt bad for snapping at Chenle earlier, but the boy didn't seem too bothered if the way he was sleeping soundly against Taeyong's side was any indication.

When Kun had poked his head into the room after getting ready, both of his boys were still asleep so he decided to make breakfast. Once he had finished, he headed back into the bedroom and was glad to see Taeyong awake. "'Morning, babe," he said quietly as he walked over to the bed.

"Hey," Taeyong said with a soft smile. He did his best to sit up, which left Chenle's head pillowed near his belly. Instinctively, the boy's hand curled into his shirt.

Kun rounded the bed to Taeyong's side and leaned down to kiss his fiancé gently. "I know I should have left him in his own bed, but he was scared you were mad at him so I didn't think you would mind him staying for a little bit," he said quietly.

"No, it's okay," Taeyong said, "I shouldn't have been so grumpy with him." Just because he was tired and sore didn't mean that he could take it out on his fiancé or their son.

"He'll be alright. This is good practice for him to learn how to wait because he's certainly going to have to get used to it," Kun said. Since Chenle had been the center of their attention since they got him, the toddler had never really had to wait for the things he wanted.

"We've definitely spoiled him too much," Taeyong agreed. Hopefully they weren't in for a bunch of meltdowns along with a new baby.

"Yeah," Kun said slowly, "but I wouldn't do anything different." He smiled fondly as he watched his sleeping son happily curled into Taeyong's side. He reached over and gently smoothed out Chenle’s hair.

"No, of course not," Taeyong said, "we just have to make sure that we make him feel like he's helping instead of being ignored." He knew it might get difficult, but there was no other option really.

"I don't think he's planning on ever letting the baby out of his sight so having him help out shouldn't be a problem," Kun said, chuckling softly. Chenle already hated being more than a room away from Taeyong and the baby so time could only tell how he'd be when the baby actually got here.

"God, getting him to go to Tennie's in a couple days is gonna be impossible," Taeyong said. Chenle wasn't gonna want to leave them, especially if he knew the baby was finally coming.

"I know," Kun said with a sigh, "maybe we should see if Sicheng and Taeil will take him instead. He might be more willing to go with them so that he can see Jeno." He wasn't sure if that would work but it was certainly worth a shot.

Taeyong hummed in agreement. "I'll text Taeil hyung when I get up," he said, having no intentions to get out of bed yet.

Kun simply nodded. "Do you want something to eat first?" he asked. Even though he knew bed rest didn't mean Taeyong had to be lying down 24/7, Kun still got worried every time he got up, even if it was simply to stretch.

"Yeah, that'd be good," Taeyong agreed. He was starting to realize that he had to pee too, but he didn't want to get up or dislodge Chenle.

Kun disappeared back into the kitchen to make a tray of food for Taeyong. When he returned he realized that there would be no way to place the tray comfortably that wouldn't hit Chenle so he put the tray to the side for a moment. Carefully, and not without tired whining, he moved Chenle away from Taeyong's side and handed his fiancé the tray. He quickly climbed into bed and pulled the half asleep toddler onto his lap and let him curl into his chest.

"Can you actually hold onto it for a minute?" Taeyong asked sheepishly, "I  _ really _ need to pee." He'd been in bed since pretty early the night before, so it had been a while.

"Of course, babe," Kun said. He carefully leaned over, and took the tray back to lay on the bed. "Do you need help getting up?"

"No, I'm good," Taeyong said as he carefully got out of bed and waddled off to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he was back and ready to spend the day in bed with his family.

Chenle slowly began to wake up. “Taeyong baba?” he whined quietly when he realized his father was gone. “He’ll be right back, baby,” Kun said gently. Sure enough the second Taeyong was back in bed, Chenle was crawling out of Kun’s lap so he could snuggle into Taeyong’s side.

Taeyong stayed sitting up and gratefully accepted the tray back from Kun. “Lele, you want a bite?”

Chenle nodded and slowly pushed himself up to sit. He stayed as close as physically possible to Taeyong as he could manage and clutched onto this father's shirt tightly.

Taeyong picked up a piece of bacon off of the plate and held it out for Chenle to bite. It was perfectly chewy, just how they both liked.

Chenle leaned towards Taeyong's hand and carefully bit into the piece off bacon. He sat up more and eagerly took the rest of the piece into his mouth, which he soon realized was a bit of a mistake.

"Careful, Lele, small bites," Taeyong said worriedly as the boy tried to eat the entire strip of bacon in one go.

Chenle was too scared to look up at Taeyong so he stared at his hands instead. It took a few minutes, but he was finally able to finish the bacon in his mouth. He immediately laid back down and hid his face in Taeyong's side, not willing to risk eating anymore.

"Lele, I have pancakes too," Taeyong said gently, "do you want to try some of that?" He knew he wouldn't be able to finish this breakfast on his own.

Chenle shook his head. “Oh, baby, you have to eat a little more than that,” Kun said gently. This only caused the toddler to whine loudly and continue to hide his face.

Taeyong cut up a small piece of pancake and offered part of it to Kun. If Chenle didn’t want any, he’d just share with his fiancé instead.

Kun gratefully accepted the piece of pancake and hummed happily, glad they were still warm. Chenle surprisingly still didn’t budge.

“Lele, baby, what’s wrong?” Taeyong asked gently, forcibly removing the boy from his hiding spot.

Chenle whined again and did his best to twist out of Taeyong’s grip but it was no use. Instead he flung his arms around his father’s neck and pressed his face into his neck, careful to not dislodge the tray. “Don’t want baba mad,” he mumbled, voice muffled.

“Oh, baby, I’m not mad at you,” Taeyong said, clicking his tongue, “I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Chenle sniffed and braved untucking his head. He snuck a look at Kun and then back up at up at Taeyong. “Sorry, baba,” he mumbled quietly, twisting Taeyong’s shirt between his fingers.

“It’s okay, baby,” Taeyong said with a soft smile, “let’s try again with a small piece, okay?”

Chenle nodded and pushed himself again. “Pancake?” he asked quietly.

Taeyong cut a small piece of pancake and held it out to Chenle. "Say ah, Lele," he said.

“Ah!” Chenle said happily, giggling quietly as he took the bite of pancake. He chewed much slower this time, almost to the point of excess. “More?” he asked hopefully when he had finally finished the small bite.

Taeyong smiled and cut Chenle another piece of pancake. This time he dipped it in syrup and held his hand up it to catch any drips.

Chenle’s eyes lit up when he saw the syrup. He forgot all his previous reservations and eagerly ate the new piece of pancake. A little bit of syrup got on his cheek and he wiped it off with the back of his hand. Unfortunately that didn’t do much, and he was left with a sticky cheek and even stickier fingers.

"Kun-ah, can you grab a wet paper towel?" Taeyong asked, "Lele got a little sticky."

“Sure thing, babe,” Kun replied. He disappeared into the bathroom and was back within a few minutes. “Come here, Lele,” he said crawling back into bed. Chenle giggled and did his best to scoot away from Kun, but it was no use. Kun quickly reached out and gently dragged the toddler towards him and sat him on his lap. Despite all the toddler’s wiggling, Kun was able to wipe the syrup from Chenle’s cheeks and fingers. He released the toddler who then made a mad dash across the bed back to his spot next to Taeyong.

"Whoa, careful, Lele," Taeyong admonished as the tray tipped dangerously from the sudden dip. He managed to steady it before anything spilled though and was soon feeding the boy more pancakes.

Chenle immediately settled himself down, careful not to get too close to the tray again. “Make sure you eat enough,” Kun said gently. He knew Taeyong would be fine, but he still couldn’t help but worry.

"I will, Kunnie, don't worry," Taeyong said, popping a piece of pancake into his own mouth as he did so.

Kun smiled softly. “I’m sorry I just can’t help it,” he whispered. Everyday he just seemed to grow more and more worried about Taeyong and he really had no idea what he was going to do when the baby actually got there.

"You'll have someone else to fuss over in a few days," Taeyong said teasingly.

Kun quickly dropped his eyes to bed. “That I will, but I’m still going to fuss over you,” he said shyly. It hit him in that moment that they really were only days away from meeting their baby. Everything about that was so surreal and Kun didn’t know if he’d ever be ready.

"I know, babe," Taeyong said as he leaned over to give Kun a kiss. "Baba, gross!" Chenle yelled.

Kun chuckled and ruffled Chenle’s hair. He leaned down to place a kiss on the top of his son’s hair but was met by the toddler’s two tiny hands pushing him away instead. Faking a pout, he pulled back ever so slightly.

Now that the tray was empty, Taeyong set it to the side and attacked his son from behind. He held Chenle tightly and smothered the top of his head in kisses.

Chenle shrieked in surprise, which turned into a fit of giggles. He tried desperately to escape Taeyong’s grasp, but it was no use so he quickly gave up. “Baba, stop it!” he said between giggles.

Taeyong ignored Chenle and continued attacking the boy with kisses until they both got tired.

“I want some too,” Kun said playfully. He scooted across the bed so that Chenle was trapped between him and Taeyong and faked the best pout he could manage.

“I don’t know,” Taeyong teased, “Lele says that’s gross.”

"But I don't think it's gross," he whined, still pouting. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Kun leaned over to place a big kiss on top of Chenle's head before turning his attention back to his fiancé.

"I don't know, Kunnie, I trust Chenle's judgment," Taeyong kept teasing, denying his fiancé yet again.

"Fine, have it your way," Kun huffed. He figured now was as good of a time as any to take the empty tray of food back into the kitchen so that was what he did. Even though he wasn't legitimately upset, he still wore a pout the whole way out of the bedroom.

Taeyong smiled fondly at Kun's retreating back. He knew his fiancé too well to think that he was actually upset. Instead, he focused on attacking their son with kisses once again.

Kun's lips slipped into a smile when he heard Chenle erupt into another round of giggles. The toddler had done his best to escape Taeyong's grasp but it was turning out to be futile. No amount of wiggling or pushing could help Chenle get free so he finally changed his tactic and tried hiding in his father's side instead.

Taeyong finally gave the boy a break after a few minutes. "You know, you'll get to do this with the baby when he's a bit bigger," he said.

Chenle untucked his head quickly and stared up at Taeyong. "Really?" he asked, eyes wide with excitement. He couldn't wait for him and the baby and Taeyong baba and Kun baba to all cuddle together in bed.

"Of course!" Taeyong said excitedly. He knew already that Chenle was going to be an extremely affectionate older brother.

Chenle beamed and pushed himself up so he could sit closer to Taeyong's belly. "You hear, baby? We gonna cuddle!" Chenle announced happily, extending his hand to wait for an answer. 

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle attempt to play with his brother. Surprisingly, there was no little tap near Chenle's hand, even though the baby was the most responsive to the boy.

Chenle pouted when nothing happened. "Baby not excited?" he asked looking back up at Taeyong sadly. 

"I think he's just asleep, baby," Taeyong assured his son.

Chenle nodded and slowly crawled back up the bed to snuggle under Taeyong's arm. "Baba, can we color?" he asked hopefully. Not long after, Kun came back into the bedroom, not the least bit surprised to see Chenle still pressed against his fiancé's side.

Taeyong hummed. "Why don't you ask Kun baba to help you set up?" he suggested.

"What do you need, baby?" Kun asked. "Color?" Chenle asked rolling himself over just enough so that he could look at Kun without getting too far away from Taeyong. "Sure thing, Lele, but you're going to have to sit at Taeyong baba's desk," Kun said. He walked over to the desk and pulled out some paper and the crayons for the toddler.

Taeyong looked down at Chenle, who was pouting. It was obvious that the boy didn't want to move so far away from him or the baby.

Kun turned back around and saw that Chenle hadn’t moved from his spot on the bed. He knew that the toddler didn’t want to leave Taeyong’s side so he figured an exception wouldn’t hurt. “If you promise to be careful and not get crayon on the sheets you can color in bed,” he bargained.

Chenle nodded vigorously, sitting up on his knees. He was going to be as careful as possible while he colored a picture for his baby brother.

Kun grabbed the TV tray from the closet and set it up in front of Chenle. He brought the toddler over some paper and crayons before crawling into bed himself and settling down.

Taeyong shifted slightly to the side to let Chenle set himself up. He was excited to see what the boy was going to make.

Kun rolled over onto his side and watched Chenle fondly. The toddler was completely immersed in his drawing but was careful just like he promised. “You know you still owe me,” Kun said to Taeyong, forcing a pout back onto his lips.

"Oh, but we don't want to gross out Lele," Taeyong teased, still holding out on Kun. "Lele, what are you drawing?"

Kun chuckled and rolled his eyes; Taeyong wasn’t going to get away with all this teasing once Chenle went down for his nap. He pushed himself up and smiled as he looked at the toddler’s picture that he presumed to be all four of them.

"Is that us, Lele?" Taeyong asked and the boy nodded happily. "For my baby!" he announced.

Kun had to take a minute to register what Chenle said. “For your baby?” he asked, chuckling quietly.

"Mhm!" Chenle said with a nod. "For my baby!"

“Don’t you mean your baby brother?” Kun corrected gently. He snuck at quick look at Taeyong before looking back at the toddler.

“My baby,” Chenle said, nodding in agreement. He didn’t really see a difference.

“Oh, Chenle,” Kun sighed, “he’s your baby brother, not your baby.” He really didn’t want to have to explain this to his three year old, but it looked like he didn’t have a choice.

Chenle’s eyes went wide as he sat up and stared at Kun. “Not...my baby?” he asked, lower lip wobbling dangerously.

Kun knew they were on the verge of a breakdown and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. “He’s your baby brother,” Kun said, “he’s Taeyong baba and my baby but he’s your little sibling.” He wondered if this would be easier for him to explain to the toddler in Mandarin.

That was hurtful to Chenle, although he couldn’t put it in as many words. Wasn’t he Tae baba’s and Kun baba’s baby? Were they replacing him now that they had a real baby? The poor boy burst into tears.

This was exactly what Kun was trying to avoid but it looked like it didn’t go very well. “Lele, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Kun said quickly, “he’s still yours, but not in the same way.” He reached out to gently pull the toddler over to him and onto his lap.

Chenle fought against Kun, squirming and wailing. Behind him, Taeyong gave Kun a disappointed look. He just  _ had _ to get into semantics  with a three-year-old.

"Chenle, baby, it's okay," Kun said quickly. He didn't miss Taeyong's look out of the corner of his eye but he elected to ignore it. Chenle obviously wasn't going to calm down on his lap, so he loosened his hold ever so slightly so that the toddler could move back next to Taeyong if he wanted to. Kun was not fond of the idea of chasing the upset toddler through the apartment so he hoped the boy didn't go far.

“Lele,” Taeyong said patiently, “honey, what’s wrong?” Chenle looked up at him with snot and tears running down his face. “Promised!” he yelled, “Lele no go!”

"Chenle, you're not going anywhere," Kun assured quickly, "you're ours and you're going to stay with us forever." He chewed on his lip nervously, finally realizing his mistake.

“Kunnie, why don’t you go get Lele a clean shirt?” Taeyong suggested lightly. Once Kun had left the room, Taeyong laid down on his side and managed to get Chenle to do the same. “Lele,” he said gently, reaching out to hold one of the boy’s little hands, “just because the baby’s coming doesn’t mean we’re going to love you any less. I love you and Kun baba and the baby all the same.”

Kun took his time grabbing clean clothes and some tissues for Chenle. There was no point in going back in the bedroom if Taeyong had everything under control; besides he would probably just set Chenle off again. If he couldn't even work Chenle down from a tantrum after over a year, what was he going to do with the new baby? He quickly shook his head and decided to distract himself by grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen.

“The baby is gonna be just as much your baby as ours, okay?” Taeyong said. He didn’t really think it was a big deal that Chenle was calling the baby his own. The baby obviously wasn’t and this would just be a cute memory a few years down the road. He didn’t really understand why Kun had made such a big deal out of it.

When Kun finally heard Chenle stop crying, he braved venturing back into the bedroom. The toddler was curled back up to Taeyong's side and was quiet aside from a few stray sniffles. Kun sighed and walked slowly towards the bed. Half of him debated if it was even worth trying to clean the toddler up.

“Lele, can you let Kun baba help you get cleaned up?” Taeyong asked gently. The boy nodded and sat up, shuffling nervously toward Kun. Over his shoulder, Taeyong looked at Kun pointedly and mouthed the word “apologize.”

Kun’s chest tightened when he saw how upset Chenle was. He hung his head and took a deep breath as the toddler approached him. “I’m sorry I scared you, baby,” he said sincerely as he wiped down the toddler’s face and helped him into a clean shirt. “Why don’t you finish coloring with Taeyong baba while I make lunch and I’ll come get you when it’s ready?” he suggested when the toddler was cleaned up. Chenle didn’t need to be told twice and quickly scurried back across the bed.

Taeyong stayed laying on his side, absentmindedly watching Chenle as he colored. He wondered fleetingly if therapy might be good for Chenle. This abandonment issue could become very bad if they let it go on much further.

After making sure Taeyong was all set, Kun hid himself back in the kitchen. He put some soft music on, quiet enough that he could still hear his boys if they called, and got to work. Sooner than he would have liked, he was carrying a tray of food back into the bedroom.

“Lunch is here, Lele,” Taeyong said, “can you put your crayons away for me?”

“Not done yet,” Chenle said with a pout. He kept a tight grip on the crayon he was holding. This really wasn’t turning out to be the relaxing day Kun had hoped it was going to be.

“You can finish after we eat, okay? We don’t want the food to get cold, Lele,” Taeyong said, gently taking the crayon out of the boy’s grip.

“Not hungry,” Chenle whined, standing up so he could grab onto the crayon again. Kun bit his lip harshly; he really didn’t want to get involved and make everything worse again, but he knew Chenle couldn’t get away with this behavior.

“Just a couple bites, Lele,” Taeyong said, “don’t you want to set a good example for the baby?”

Chenle crossed his arms and took a hard seat on the bed. That was about as close of an agreement as Kun was going to get so he carefully set up the tray, keeping a weary eye on the toddler.

Taeyong carefully moved the coloring supplies to the side and pushed himself to sit up. “Say ah, Lele,” he said, holding out a piece of food to the boy.

Chenle didn't say anything this time, but he obediently opened his mouth nonetheless. The toddler was well behaved throughout the rest of lunch and curled himself back into Taeyong's side when he was done eating, the coloring long forgotten. 

Taeyong was more than happy to let Chenle cuddle up to him and fall asleep. They were counting down the days until they could no longer do this as regularly.

Kun smiled softly as he watched the sight in front of him. It was moments like these where he wished he could freeze time and enjoy it. But since he couldn’t do that, taking a picture for their scrapbook was the next best thing.


	26. Chapter 26

When the day finally came, Taeyong felt like it had been years. Bed rest had gotten old fast and Taeyong was never more glad to be laying on an operation table. “You’re not gonna leave, right?” He asked Kun.

"Of course not," Kun said immediately, "there isn't a single reason why I would leave this room." He took Taeyong's hand in his own and squeezed gently. Kun had to admit that he was nervous for everything, but he would never dream of leaving Taeyong's side.

“Will you tell me what he looks like?” Taeyong asked. He’d been given strong anaesthetics to keep him from feeling any incisions and it was making him a little unfocused.

"Absolutely, babe, but you're going to have to pick his name," Kun said. He knew Taeyong would be a little out of it for a while, but after everything his fiancé went through, Kun wanted him to name their baby.

Taeyong smiled and nodded. "Okay, we're starting," the doctor announced. Taeyong fortunately couldn't feel anything happening below the screen hanging over his chest. He almost forgot what was happening until he heard the tiniest of cries.

Kun only let go of Taeyong's hand when the doctors called him over to help cut the umbilical cord. His face broke into a large smile as he finally laid his eyes on his son. For how big Taeyong had gotten, he seemed so small. Once the nurses had cleaned and wrapped the baby up, they handed him to Kun. "Tae, he's absolutely perfect," he breathed as he carefully took the baby into his arms.

Taeyong couldn't help it. He burst into tears. This process had been so long and he had been so scared of something going wrong the entire time, but their son had turned out perfect. "We're gonna get you closed up then you can hold him," the doctor told him and Taeyong could only nod.

Once he had gotten the okay from the doctors, Kun brought the baby over to Taeyong. He carefully sat back down and scooted as close as he could. “He’s so gorgeous,” Kun said. The baby seemed like a spitting image of Taeyong and Kun couldn’t be happier.

Taeyong turned his head to look at his son and couldn’t help the small gasp that left his mouth. The baby was so tiny, but every single of one of his features was mesmerizingly perfect.

“Here, babe,” Kun said. He gently placed the baby on Taeyong’s chest. He made sure that he was secure in his fiancé’s arms before carefully pulling back his arms. “What do you want to name him?” he asked.

Taeyong looked down at the baby’s tiny, reddened face and he just knew. “Jisung,” he whispered, “our baby Jisung.”

Kun’s smile widened. As cute as In-nae was, he had always hoped that Taeyong would pick Jisung. “That’s perfect for him,” he said happily. Taking a few steps back, he pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures; he never wanted to forget this moment.

“The OR nurses are going to take you for post-op and the others are going to run some routine tests on the little guy,” the doctor said, moving back into Taeyong’s line of vision and gently lifting the baby from him. “Congratulations, Taeyong-ssi.”

Kun was not the slightest bit happy to be separated from either of his boys, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Instead, his only option was to pace around the room Taeyong would be staying in for the next few days and wait for the nurses to bring his fiancé.

Taeyong was no less loopy by the time the nurses brought him back to his room and his fiancé. “Kunnie,” he said as they wheeled him in, “is the baby back yet? How is he?”

“He’s not back yet, babe,” Kun said slowly. He didn’t want to worry Taeyong, but the nurses hadn’t been back since they brought Kun. “How are you feeling?” he asked concernedly. Of course he was worried about their baby, but he was also incredibly worried about Taeyong.

“High,” Taeyong said bluntly. They’d had to give him another dose of painkillers, which weren’t wearing off as quickly as they would have otherwise. He was still in a very good mood despite the nervousness he felt over the baby.

Kun simply nodded; that was much better than him being in pain. He settled himself into the chair next to Taeyong’s bed and took his fiancé’s hand in his own again. “They’ll bring him back soon,” he whispered.

It felt like no time at all before a nurse was wheeling a tiny pram into the room and lifting the baby out of it. “He’s perfectly healthy,” she said with a smile, “seven pounds, thirteen ounces, nineteen inches long.”

Kun scooted closer to the bed and leaned over to get a closer looked at Jisung. He had opened his eyes and was looking up at them curiously. “Hi, Jisung,” Kun whispered. He was practically beaming as he looked down at his son. Kun wasn’t sure how up to visitors Taeyong would be feeling, but he couldn’t help texting Johnny to come to the hospital and he hoped the older man wasn’t far away.

“We should send Taeil hyung a picture,” Taeyong said. Chenle was staying the night with Taeil, Sicheng, and Jeno and wouldn’t be coming to the hospital until tomorrow, but he was sure the boy was just itching to know when the baby was born.

"Do you want me to send the picture I took earlier or a new one?" Kun asked. He was already pulling out his phone to begin typing the message.

“A new one,” Taeyong said, “I don’t need Lele asking why the baby was all slimy.” He could just picture the conversation and he knew it wouldn’t go well.

Kun chuckled and happily complied. He sent this picture immediately followed by a "Meet Jisung!" He put his phone on the table and focused his attention back on his baby. Kun slowly reached his hand out to his son and smiled when the baby's tiny hand wrapped around his finger.

“Kunnie,” Taeyong mumbled, looking down at the tiny baby in his arms, “I...made this.” It didn’t seem possible that this beautiful, perfect human being had come from his own body.

"Yeah you did, babe, and I'm so proud of you. And he’s absolutely perfect just like you," Kun said softly. He leaned over and kissed Taeyong's temple gently. "I love you," he whispered as he pulled away. 

“I love you too,” Taeyong said quietly. He looked up when the door opened and Johnny stepped in.

"I know you probably didn't want visitors, but I didn't think you would mind if Johnny hyung came," Kun said. He shook his finger gently, smiling when Jisung didn't let go and instead turned his attention towards Kun.

Johnny tiptoed over and carefully moved a chair next to the bed. “Taeyongie, he’s beautiful,” he said in awe. He stretched a hand out, seemingly comparing his thumb to the baby’s tiny foot. “Did Taeil hyung say anything yet?” Taeyong asked Kun.

Kun picked up his phone with his free hand and smiled as he read the message. "Chenle wants to know why he's so small," he said chuckling fondly, "and they're gonna be here first thing tomorrow morning."

“Tell him he used to be this small too,” Taeyong said with a snort. In fact, given his size now, Chenle was probably even smaller.

Kun was a little slow typing out the message with only one thumb but eventually he finished. He smiled when he noticed Jisung trying to look at Johnny.

“Johnny, do you wanna hold him?” Taeyong asked. The older man nodded nervously. Taeyong carefully removed Kun’s finger from Jisung’s grasp and passed the baby over to his best friend.

Kun took Taeyong's hand in his own instead. He smiled softly; Jisung looked even smaller in Johnny's arms. "What do you think of Uncle J, Jisungie?" Kun asked. 

Jisung turned his head toward Johnny when the man brushed his cheek and Taeyong could see the amazement on Johnny’s face. Although the elder had nieces and nephews, there was something wholly different about holding your godson. Speaking of which, they probably should have told Johnny that he was, in fact, Jisung’s godfather.

“Hyung,” Kun began slowly, after some prodding from Taeyong, “I know we mentioned this a long time ago, but we want you to be Jisung’s godfather.” He didn’t really phrase it as a question because he knew the older man wouldn’t refuse.

“Are you sure?” Johnny asked, looking up, “not Ten?” “Ten is Chenle’s godfather,” Taeyong said, “you’ve done so much for us, for me. We really want this.”

“We’re sure,” Kun reiterated. He could tell that Jisung would have Johnny wrapped around his finger in no time and there wasn’t a single other person Kun would want to be his son’s godfather.

“I’m honored,” Johnny said softly, looking back down at Jisung. The baby had fallen asleep in his arms and Johnny was absolutely smitten. “He looks so much like you, Yongie.”

Kun hadn’t stopped smiling since he first laid eyes on Jisung and he certainly wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. “And he’s going to be smart like you too. I just know it,” he said quietly.

“He’ll live up to his name, I hope,” Taeyong said softly. He carefully took the infant back from Johnny, tucking his tiny limbs inside his swaddle so he stayed warm.

“He certainly will,” Kun said. The adrenaline was slowly wearing off and Kun could tell how exhausted Taeyong was. He was grateful that Johnny had come to see them and he was happy that the older man was the first of their friends to see the baby.

Taeyong was about to nod off where he was sitting, but he kept himself awake for Jisung’s sake. He didn’t want to drop the baby, nor did he want to give him up to Kun just yet.

“Get some rest, babe,” Kun encouraged gently, “he’ll be here when you wake up.” He knew Taeyong would want to hold Jisung for a little while, but his fiancé also needed some sleep.

“I just still can’t believe that he’s real and he’s actually here,” Taeyong said softly. He gently brushed the pad of his finger across Jisung’s soft cheek.

“I know,” Kun agreed, “he was definitely worth the wait.” Even though Kun had only officially known about Jisung for half of the pregnancy, it still felt like he had been waiting for his son forever.

With a soft sigh, Taeyong handed the infant off to his fiancé. He felt fortunate that the nurses would help out so much while they stayed in the hospital. It meant that he and Kun could get some sleep before the reality hit.

Kun carefully took the sleeping baby in his arms and held him close. He looked down at his son and let his eyes roam over his small face, memorizing every little detail.

Johnny left not long after and Taeyong fell asleep easily after that. He was exhausted and he hadn’t even really done much. He was just happy that Jisung was finally there.

Kun held Jisung for a little while until he felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy. Luckily a nurse had come in not soon after and offered to take Jisung to the nursery. Kun took one last look at his son before giving him to the nurse. He settled down in the chair as comfortably as he could and was asleep within minutes.

Taeyong woke up earlier than he would have liked, but it was all okay. His fiancé was still sleeping in the chair, so he rang the call button to have a nurse bring Jisung to him. Chenle would be arriving soon too.

Kun woke up to an excited Chenle practically bounding across the room to see his brother. “Come here, Lele,” he said, voice still rough from sleep. He picked Chenle up and laid him in bed next to Taeyong. “Be very careful,” he cautioned gently.

“Here, Lele, come sit in my lap,” Taeyong said. He lifted his arms enough for Chenle to wiggle under, them lowered them and the baby into the toddler’s lap. “Lele, this is Jisung,” he said softly.

Kun greeted Taeil and smiled widely as he watched Chenle with Jisung. “Hi, Jisung,” he said, “wanna go home and play.” He looked back up at Taeyong expectantly.

“Soon,” Taeyong said, “Jisung’s still a bit too little to play like you play with Jeno.”

Chenle frowned and looked back at his brother. “What can he do?” he asked.

“Not much yet,” Taeyong said, “he’s just a baby, Lele.”

Chenle pouted but continued to study Jisung. The baby was relatively quiet and didn’t do much, but Chenle was still fascinated.

“You used to be this small,” Taeyong said, adjusting his hold on Jisung slightly. “Can you believe that?”

“Baba, you’re lying. I wasn’t this small,” Chenle said with a shake of his head. Kun chuckled fondly, the toddler probably didn’t realize how much he had grown in just the past year.

“You were,” Taeyong said with a nod, “when you were first born, you were even smaller than Jisungie.”

Chenle’s eyes widened and he stared down at Jisung. “Baba, were you this small?” he asked.

“I was a lot tinier,” Taeyong said patiently. “I was something called premature, which means I was born a long time before I was supposed to be.”

“Oh,” Chenle mumbled, “will Jisung get as big as me?” Kun smiled softly; It was so cute how curious Chenle was.

“Someday,” Taeyong promised, “he might even get bigger than you.”

“No, no. Not bigger,” Chenle said quickly. He didn’t want to think about the baby possibly getting to be bigger than him; he was the older sibling after all.

“Okay, okay, not bigger,” Taeyong said agreeably. The door opened again and Sicheng came in with Jeno. “We had a little bed gravity this morning,” he said apologetically.

Kun smiled. “No worries. Lele, do you want to introduce everyone?” “This is Jisung!” the toddler said proudly. Jeno had scurried over to the edge of the bed and was staring curiously at the baby.

“You can come up, Jeno,” Taeyong said, knowing the tiny boy couldn’t see very well. Sicheng lifted his son onto the bed and Jeno crawled to sit next to Chenle.

Jeno pressed himself as close to Chenle as he could so he could see. “Appa, I want a baby brother,” he said, not looking up. Kun chuckled when he saw Sicheng’s almost panicked expression.

"Jeno, do you want to try holding him?" Taeyong asked, trying to redirect the boy's attention and save Sicheng from a heart attack.

“Can I?” he asked hopefully, finally tearing his eyes away to look up at Taeyong. Chenle didn’t look quite ready to give Jisung up yet.

“Of course,” Taeyong said, lifting the baby off of Chenle’s lap and giving his son a little nudge. “Lele, why don’t you and Baba see if you can get some Jell-O from the nurses?”

Kun helped Chenle off the bed and took his son’s hand in his own as they walked to the nurse’s station. “You know another baby isn’t a horrible idea,” Taeil whispered when Sicheng sat neck to him. Sicheng smacked Taeil’s leg with a scoff. “Don’t let Jeno hear you say that.”

Taeyong helped Jeno clamber into his lap then moved Jisung onto the boy’s lap.

Jeno giggled happily when the baby was placed in his lap. “Hi, Jisung. I’m Jeno,” he greeted chipperly.

The baby was awake now, looking around curiously despite not really being able to see anything. Taeyong took one of Jeno’s hands and moved it so the baby could clasp onto his finger.

Kun and Chenle returned a little later, having successfully completed their mission. Kun helped Chenle back onto bed so he could snuggle back against Taeyong's side. He sat back down and smiled widely as he watched Jeno play with the baby. Jeno wiggled his finger and giggled when Jisung kept his tight grasp.

After a while, the other family took their leave too. Chenle, for his part, had been fidgeting impatiently next to Taeyong for the better part of the last hour. When the door closed behind Taeil, he announced, “I wanna hold Jisung again.”

Kun knew that Chenle had loved the baby since long before he had arrived, but seeing his son so excited to hold him made his heart swell. He could already see the toddler practically glued to Jisung's side when they got home.

Taeyong laughed as Chenle wiggled back into his lap and waited patiently for him to settle Jisung in his lap. “Just for a little bit,” he said, “I need to feed him soon.”

Kun quickly realized that they weren't going to have to worry about Chenle sharing his toys with Jisung. They were going to have to worry about the toddler sharing the baby himself. 

“Baby sleep with Lele?” Chenle asked, looking up at Taeyong with big eyes.

Kun reached over and ran his fingers through Chenle’s hair. “When he gets a little bit bigger, you can sleep with him,” he said gently. He knew Chenle wouldn’t hurt Jisung intentionally, but they had to be careful while he was still small.

Chenle pouted but didn’t argue. He didn’t know much about babies, but he knew they were breakable, so he trusted Baba to know what was best.

"You can hold him while he sleeps if you want," Kun said. He didn't like seeing Chenle so disappointed, but they needed to be careful with Jisung.

Chenle seemed to perk up at that, and even moreso when Taeyong offered to let him help feed Jisung. Since Taeyong obviously couldn’t nurse, the nurse brought him a prepared bottle of formula, which Chenle helped him hold.

“Lele, are you going to help feed Jisung when we get home?” Kun asked. He hoped the toddler had the same enthusiasm about the baby after they left the hospital.

Chenle nodded seriously. “I help,” he said, “baba rest.”

“What a great helper you are,” Kun commented. He leaned to give Chenle a gentle kiss on his temple. The toddler was completely immersed in feeding Jisung and Kun had never seen him so focused on anything before.

Taeyong smiled down at his son. He was so proud of Chenle for being so understanding about the situation. He really had grown up a lot.

Ten and Yuta weren’t able to come see Jisung while they were still in the hospital so they came to the apartment a few days later. They found themselves sitting around the living room and Chenle had squished himself between Yuta and Ten so he could keep a close eye on Jisung.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Ten and Yuta with the baby. Ten was particularly enamored. He had never seen something so small.

Ten eventually passed Jisung to Yuta, who was itching to hold him. He couldn’t wait for his own baby to get here. “If you want any practice you’re more than welcome to come over anytime,” Kun said, half-joking.

Ten smiled slightly and looked up at his boyfriend. Yuta looked a little less thrilled. They'd been in a weird spot, between the rough start of his pregnancy and their recent proximity to Johnny. It had put a strain on them, but hopefully the baby would help solve that.

Kun didn't miss the nervousness written across Yuta's face. He knew everything had been rough for them the past couple of months and he felt bad that there wasn't more he could do. A few minutes later, he excused himself from the room and disappeared into the kitchen.

A few days later, Johnny was visiting Taeyong and Kun, keeping an eye on Chenle and Jisung so their parents could get some rest. He had Jisung swaddled in his arms, fast asleep, and Chenle curled against his side, eyes glued to the movie on the TV, when his phone suddenly started to buzz. He carefully extracted it from his pocket and answered it. “Tennie; what’s up?” he asked in a hushed voice.

"Hey, I'm really sorry to do this, but Yuta has a doctor's appointment next week and my boss is being a dick and won't give me the day off. By any chance would you...would you be able to take him?" Ten asked nervously. He had been very apprehensive about calling Johnny, but he was running out of options. 

“Lemme check to make sure I’m free,” Johnny said. He pulled the phone away from his ear and quickly switched to his calendar. “I might be watching Chenle for the day,” he told Ten, “but I can definitely make it all work.”

"No, no, it's okay," Ten said quickly, "I'll figure it out; don't worry. Thanks anyway." His mind was already running a mile a minute trying to figure out who else he could call.

“No, Tennie, I’m sure Lele would love the adventure,” Johnny said quickly, “just text me the details for the appointment.” He paused, biting his lip nervously. “And Yuta should unblock me so I can let him know when I’m on my way.”

Ten jumped when Johnny spoke again. He had gotten so sidetracked that he had completely forgotten he was still on the phone. "Are you sure? Oh, thank you so much; you're a lifesaver," Ten said, not quite registering the words that were spilling out of his mouth, "yeah, I'll...I'll have him do that."

“Of course,” Johnny said, smiling tightly even though Ten couldn’t see him. “Any...anything for a friend.”

Ten paused for a moment. He could feel the tension radiating through the phone and he was wondering if maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. "Yeah...I, uh, thank you. I have to get going, but I'll text you all the info tonight," he said.

“Bye, Tennie,” Johnny said quietly before hanging up. He slipped the phone back in his pocket. It hurt so much to be so close to this, but Taeyong had been right all those months ago. Johnny couldn’t focus on his own hurt in all of this, otherwise his attempts to fix it wouldn’t be sincere.

Kun woke up from his nap before Taeyong so he decided to venture into the living room and save Johnny from the boys. Surprisingly they were both quiet, which made Kun a little suspicious. "How's everything going out here?" he asked quietly as he rounded the couch.

“Jisung’s asleep and Chenle’s...also asleep,” Johnny said, glancing down at the boy. He hadn’t even noticed the boy drifting off, but it was good. He had the stupid theme song from the boy’s show in his head now from having watched so many episodes.

Kun smiled fondly. "I can take him if you want," he said, walking towards the couch. He frowned as he got closer and saw Johnny's expression. "Hey are you okay?" he asked carefully. 

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” Johnny said. He looked down at the baby sleeping soundly in his arms, expression morphing into a gentle smile. That smile faded slightly when he remembered that Ten and Yuta were going to have this happiness too in a few months - without him.

Kun knew something was going on, but it wasn't his place to pry so he decided to tell Taeyong later and let his fiancé help the older man. It was honestly amazing how good Johnny was with the boys; he would make such an amazing father one day. "You know Chenle would go home with you if he could," Kun said, eyes sliding to his older son, who was clutching onto the older man's shirt with one hand.

“We’ve been watching the same episode of the same show for two hours,” Johnny said, deadpan, “I think I’ll leave him here.”

Kun chuckled fondly and let his fingers slid through Chenle's hair. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely, grabbing the remote to shut the TV off, "I'm not sure how much longer Tae is gonna be asleep, but you don't have to wait if you're tired." He didn't want to kick Johnny out, but he knew keeping an eye on both boys was exhausting even when they were sleeping.

“It’s okay, he’s cute enough to get away with it,” Johnny said, expression softening. He decided he would stay a little longer to give Kun some time to fully wake up and prepare himself to take over the kids.

"Most of the time," Kun whispered more to himself than anything. Chenle really was adorable, but his tantrums were getting worse and it was certainly taking its toll. With that he retreated to the armchair, hoping to get a few more minutes of peace before the boys woke up again.

“You should go make yourself coffee or something,” Johnny suggested wisely, “Chenle’s gonna be raring to go play when he wakes up, and Jisung will probably be up soon too.”

"Chenle will probably want to play with Tae, but I'll definitely need some for Jisung. Do you want a cup?" Kun asked as he forced himself to stand up.

“Nah, I’m not driving,” Johnny said, shaking his head. He had known that he would be exhausted so he had opted to take the subway today so he wouldn’t crash on his way home and could just topple into bed.

Kun nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. He stood at the counter, drumming his fingers on the counter to keep himself occupied while he waited for the coffee to brew. By the time he head back out to the living room, he wasn't surprised to see Chenle awake.

“Lele, you have to be quiet,” Johnny was saying, “if you wake up Jisung, he’s gonna cry and then Tae baba will wake up too and you know Tae baba’s grumpy when he’s tired.”

Kun chuckled and took a sip of his coffee. It was no secret that Taeyong was always a little grumpy when he got woken up from a nap. "Do you want to bring some toys out here to play?" he asked. He didn't want to run the risk of the toddler making too much noise in his bedroom.

“Hey, did you guys still want me to take Lele for the day next week?” Johnny asked as the boy scurried off to his room. He sincerely hoped the answer was yes. He would need some sort of barrier between him and Yuta.

"Actually we're okay. Chenle wants to play with Jeno so Taeil's gonna take him. Thank you though; I'm sure there'll be other days we'll need you," Kun said taking another sip of his coffee. He felt bad that they were always bothering Johnny with watching the boys so they tried to make it work as best they could.

“Yeah, definitely let me know,” Johnny said with a nod. Well, fuck. There went his barrier. God, this appointment was going to be the epitome of awkward. Carefully, he stood up and handed Jisung off to his father.

Kun took one last large sip of coffee before setting the cup to the side. He carefully took Jisung from Johnny and smiled when he saw his son blink his eyes open. "Are you waking up just in time to say goodbye?" he asked quietly.

Johnny smiled softly as Jisung managed to wrench an arm free as he yawned. He held his finger out and the baby grabbed on, grip strong.

"Uncle J can’t leave if you've got a death grip on him, kiddo," Kun said chuckling quietly, "thanks again for watching the boys, hyung. Tae and I really appreciate it." He really couldn't thank Johnny enough for how helpful he had been with everything recently.

“Of course, Kun-ah, I’m always happy to help,” Johnny said. He shook Jisung’s tiny fist before extracting his finger and taking his leave.

"Are you hungry, baby?" Kun asked, knowing full well he wouldn't be getting an answer. Jisung was usually hungry when he woke up from his naps so Kun went to make him a bottle before he got too fussy. He heard tiny footsteps pattering down the hall and knew that Chenle had finally decided on something to play with. Even just by the sound of his footsteps, Kun could tell how much bigger the boy had gotten over just the past few months, and the thought made him smile.

When Taeyong woke up, it was to the sound of Chenle giggling in the other room. For the first time since Jisung had been born, he felt close to rested.

Kun had sat himself back on the couch to feed Jisung and keep an eye on Chenle. Chenle had started off as a very good helper, but eventually his cars became much more interesting than his baby brother so he scooted himself off of Kun's lap and onto the floor to play.

Taeyong yawned as he shuffled out to the living room. With a happy sigh, he leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped his arms around Kun’s neck, propping his chin on the younger man’s shoulder.

"Hi, babe," Kun greeted quietly, "how was your nap?" Chenle looked up from his cars and smiled widely when he saw Taeyong. He immediately grabbed one of his cars and scurried onto the couch, standing up so he could offer the toy to his father.

“So good,” Taeyong groaned happily. He reached down to shake one of Jisung’s little fists before turning his attention to their older son. “Let me get some water first and then I’ll come play with you, okay, Lele?”

"I'm glad," Kun said softly before turning his attention back to Jisung, who was nearly done with his bottle. "Okay!" Chenle agreed happily, hopping down from the couch and resuming what he was doing.

Taeyong padded into the kitchen to drown himself in a glass of water. Once he was hydrated, he came back and carefully lowered himself to the floor. “What are we playing, Lele?”

"Cars!" he answered excitedly. He handed Taeyong the red one before an idea struck him. "Baba, can we race around the couch?"

“I can’t move that fast yet, Lele,” Taeyong said regretfully, instinctively putting a hand over his abdomen where the surgical scar was still covered in tape.

Chenle pouted but nodded. "When Jisungie goes back to sleep, I'll race with you," Kun said. That seemed to satisfy the toddler and he sat across from Taeyong happily pushing the cars back and forth. These were the days that Kun loved, just a lazy afternoon surrounded by all of the people he loved most in the world. Life really couldn't be anymore perfect.

Taeyong absentmindedly pushed the cars back and forth with Chenle, but his attention was mostly on Jisung. It wasn’t that he was closer to the baby or loved him more. He simply felt like if he blinked or looked away, he would miss something.

Once Jisung was fed and burped, Kun kicked his feet up and spread out on the couch and carefully laid the baby on his chest. Kun knew Jisung would be up for a little while so he made sure that the baby was facing Taeyong and Chenle so he could watch them, and that he did. 

“Hi, cutie,” Taeyong cooed at Jisung, waving his fingers at the baby. He pushed the car back to Chenle and got up to switch places with Kun.

Kun pushed himself off of the couch and regretfully handed Jisung off to Taeyong. “Alright, Lele; let’s race,” he announced. The toddler was off and running before Kun even had a chance to register what was happening. He was consistently amazed by the amount of energy the toddler had and he eventually had to call a timeout. While Chenle was playing on his own, Kun slipped into the spot next to Taeyong on the couch.

Taeyong was glad that he was wearing a big shirt, something of Johnny’s from high school. The neck was wide enough to slip off on shoulder if he wanted it to. Instead, he laid Jisung’s on his tummy, situating the baby’s head near his heart and using the low neckline of the shirt to give him as much skin-to-skin contact as possible.

Kun smiled as he noticed Jisung already beginning to nod off again. The baby seemed completely content to lay there for hours and Kun didn’t blame him. Once he had caught his breath, he pushed himself back onto the floor to play with Chenle some more. Before he knew it the day was already over and they were tucking both boys into bed.

Taeyong was glad that Chenle had managed to wear himself out. It was easy to get the boy to stay in his own bed if he was asleep before they even put him there. Jisung was currently staying in a bassinet at their bedside so he wouldn’t wake Chenle in the middle of the night, but it had definitely led to some jealousy.

Every day without a meltdown at bedtime was a success in Kun’s book. He all but flopped into bed and only remembered to crawl under the covers because of how cold it was. Luckily he remembered he needed to talk to Taeyong before he fell asleep. “Hey, babe, can you keep an eye on Johnny hyung? He seemed a little off today but I didn’t want to pry,” he mumbled tiredly.

“‘Course,” Taeyong said absently as he made sure Jisung was comfortable before falling into bed himself. He was glad that both boys had gone down easily for once.

Kun grunted a “thank you” and rolled over so he could gather Taeyong in his arms. He hoped that night went as easily as their day had, but he had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn’t be the case.

Taeyong fell asleep almost as soon as he was settled in Kun’s arms. There was no place more comfortable than his fiancé’s embrace. “Love you,” he mumbled as he drifted off.

"Love you too," Kun murmured quietly before he fell asleep himself. The next few days flew by and before he knew it, Kun was back at work. He would much rather be home on the couch with at least one of his boys curled into his lap, but instead he was resigned to texting Taeyong as much as possible to make sure everything was going okay.

Kun going back to work was definitely a tough transition. Taeyong still couldn’t move as much as he wanted to, which made playing with Chenle hard, and Jisung obviously still needed a lot of attention. In the end, he recruited Donghyuck, who worked evenings, to come and help him out during the day.

The only good thing about Kun going back to work was that his boss no longer held him late. That meant in the time between Donghyuck leaving and Kun arriving home, Taeyong was only alone with the boys for an hour at the absolute most. Today, unfortunately, traffic was worse due to construction so Kun was a little bit later than usual. 

It had not been a good afternoon. Donghyuck had needed to leave earlier than usual, traffic had Kun getting home later than usual, and Chenle was much crankier than usual. The boy was running around in just a diaper, screaming bloody murder, and Taeyong simply didn’t have the energy to deal with it, not with Jisung crying too. “Zhong Chenle, go to your room!” he finally yelled, shocking the boy into silence.

"I'm really sorry I'm la-," Kun stopped in his tracks as he took in the scene in front of him as he walked in the door. Chenle was standing in the middle of the living room, no clothes on, and mouth opened wide. "Baba!" he cried making a bee-line for Kun and latching onto his legs. "What's going on?" he asked slowly, but the look on Taeyong's face said it all.

“I have been trying to get Jisung down for a nap for the last hour,” Taeyong said, trying his best not to get emotional. He would either scream or cry and he didn’t want to do either of those. “Please, just...do something with Lele.”

Kun sighed sadly; the boys were really giving Taeyong a run for his money today. He gave his fiancé a gentle kiss on the cheek before whisking the toddler down the hallway. "Come on, baby, let's get you dressed so you can help me cook."

Taeyong disappeared into the master bedroom with Jisung, trying his best to quiet the wailing infant. It didn’t seem to be helping though. The poor boy was simply too overwhelmed.

Kun helped Chenle get dressed and was a little surprised that Jisung wasn't calming down now. "Lele, why don't you go play in the living room for a few minutes while I get changed and then we'll start cooking," he said. The toddler agreed easily and bounded back down the hallway to where his train tracks were set up around the coffee table. Instead of grabbing clothes when he went into the bedroom, Kun walked towards Taeyong and Jisung. "Let me take him, Tae. You get some rest and I'll have dinner ready for when you wake up," he said gently.

“You can’t watch the boys and the stove at the same time,” Taeyong said with a sigh as he switched Jisung to his other shoulder. “I’ve got him, it’s okay.”

"Chenle can wait a few minutes while I get Jisungie to sleep before he helps me cook. He's not going to calm down if you're just as on edge. You need a break, babe, it's okay," Kun said gently but firmly. 

Taeyong sighed but handed the baby off to Kun. The only thing he was doing if he continued to insist on caring for Jisung was putting them both at risk of getting hurt.

“Hi, baby,” Kun cooed as he carefully took Jisung into his arms. Once the baby was comfortable, he left the room, leaving Taeyong to get some sleep.

Taeyong practically collapsed into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He couldn't wait until Chenle went to sleep over at Jeno's in a couple days, if only so that he could focus solely on one child for a day. He loved his older son dearly, but he was feeling very overwhelmed.

Kun took Jisung into Chenle's room where it was quiet save for the occasional giggle that floated through the hallway. "Is this better, Jisungie? Everything's nice and quiet now," Kun said as he sat down in the rocking chair. Within the next twenty minutes, he had successfully coaxed Jisung to sleep and was laying him back in his bassinet, careful not to wake Taeyong up. With that, he finally went to collect Chenle so they could get started on dinner.

Taeyong slept like a rock straight through dinner. Not even Chenle jumping on the bed next to him could wake him up. When he did finally wake up, it was pitch black out and his mouth was bone dry.

Kun was in bed reading when Taeyong finally woke up. He felt bad that he had slept through dinner, but Chenle had made a valiant attempt to wake him up without success. Luckily, as of this moment, both boys were happily asleep and the apartment was nice and calm. "Hi, sleepyhead," Kun whispered fondly.

Taeyong groaned and rubbed his eyes as he sat up. “What time is it?” he asked blearily.

“Nine-thirty,” Kun replied, “both boys are in bed and asleep as of right now, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be that way in a half hour. Do you need anything?” He reached over and carefully brushed away a stray piece of hair that was covering Taeyong’s eyes.

"Water," Taeyong said hoarsely, already moving to get out of bed.

“Easy, babe, I’ll get it,” Kun said, gently pushing Taeyong to lay back down. He disappeared for a moment and quickly returned with a tall glass of water, which he promptly handed over.

Taeyong has propped himself up on the pillows by the time Kun got back. “I’m sorry I left you alone with the boys,” he said as he took the glass.

“Oh don’t worry about that, babe. Once everything quieted down, Jisung fell asleep pretty quickly and Chenle always helps me cook. I’m just glad you got some rest,” Kun said softly.

"That's good," Taeyong said tiredly, curling into Kun's side once he had placed the empty glass aside. Despite missing dinner, he wasn't really that hungry and he was content to just stay where he was.

Kun propped his book on his leg and held it open with one hand as the other wrapped around Taeyong. He let his hand gently slide up and down his fiancé’s back, hoping to lull him back to sleep.

"I don't know why Lele's been acting out so much lately," Taeyong said quietly, "I try to give him as much attention as I can, and Donghyuck's here every day to play with him."

Kun sighed sadly. "Well there's certainly a difference now that Jisung is actually here. It's not your fault he's acting like this. It's hard for a kid as young as he is to adjust to not being the center of attention anymore. We just have to make sure it doesn't get any worse," he said. 

“I wish I could give him as much attention as I did before, but I can’t and I don’t know how to make him understand that,” Taeyong said with a sigh.

"He's only three I don't know if we'll be able to help him understand," Kun said gently, "everything will get easier as Jisung gets bigger. We just have to wait it out and do our best to show Chenle how much we love him, which I think we've done a pretty good job of."

Taeyong sighed. “Hopefully tomorrow will go better,” he said, letting his eyes finally close again.

"I hope so too," Kun whispered. He finished the chapter he was reading before closing his book and setting it on the nightstand. As carefully as he could, he reached up to shut the lamp off and settled into bed. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important announcement: this upcoming week is our finals week! We both are very busy on Monday and finish on Wednesday, so we will not be posting a chapter on Monday and will instead do a double update on Thursday. Thanks for understanding!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part one of the double update! The semester is finally over!

In the next few weeks, things with Chenle were touch and go. About a month after Jisung had been born, things all came to a head. Donghyuck couldn't come over that day, as he had an important meeting with his graduate thesis advisor, so Taeyong was alone with the two boys. Chenle had been absolutely impossible, screaming any time Taeyong's attention was on Jisung and preventing the infant from getting any sleep. Taeyong eventually managed to get Jisung down for a nap and went to deal with Chenle. He found the boy standing on the couch, waiting for him to come back. "Baba, play!" he said loudly but Taeyong shook his head with a frown. "Chenle, you can't be yelling when Jisung is trying to sleep," he reprimanded, "I can't play with you right now. Why don't you go play with your toys in your room?" The boy didn't like that one bit. He kicked and screamed as Taeyong picked him up. The man actually had to drop him back onto the couch when Chenle's foot caught him just below the scar on his stomach. That was it. He grabbed the boy by his upper arm and practically dragged him down the hallway to his room. It was a good thing that the door handle was a little too high for Chenle to reach, because now he was officially in time out.

Kun was a little surprised how quiet everything was when he first walked in, although that didn't last long. He had just gotten his shoes off and greeted Taeyong when a sobbing Chenle had come tearing down the hallway and over to him. He knelt down to scoop the toddler into his arms before standing again. Chenle immediately clutched onto Kun's shirt and buried his head in his father's neck. "Easy, baby, everything's okay," Kun said soothingly, "what happened?"

"I put him in time out," Taeyong explained, "he kept screaming when I was trying to get Jisung down and Donghyuck wasn't able to come over today to keep him occupied."

“Oh, Chenle, you know better than that,” Kun said, “come on, let’s get you cleaned up so you can help me cook.” He took the toddler into the bathroom and sat him on the vanity to wash his face. “Is it easy to fall asleep when people are being loud and yelling?” Kun asked. Chenle sniffled and shook his head. “So is it fair to yell when Jisungie is trying to sleep?” “But I wanna play!” Chenle whined. “I know, baby, but the faster Jisung falls asleep the faster Taeyong baba can play with you,” Kun said gently.

Taeyong disappeared into the kitchen while Kun dealt with Chenle. He started to wash the dishes from lunch, which had been abandoned in his fight to wrangle their older son. If Kun could just take one day off, things would get so much easier.

Once Chenle had finally calmed down, Kun carried the toddler into the kitchen. He didn’t miss the apprehensive look Chenle gave Taeyong, but he elected to ignore it considering he knew the toddler was upset about being put it time out. “Go rest, babe. I can take care of the dishes,” he said.

"No, babe, it's fine," Taeyong said, already halfway through the dishes anyway, "you just get started on dinner."

"Alright," Kun agreed, already setting Chenle up at his seat. He easily worked around Taeyong and was sure to keep the toddler busy so he stayed quiet and out of more trouble. On one trip from the counter to the table, Kun was sure to place a gentle kiss on Taeyong's cheek and smiled proudly at his successful sneak attack. Surprisingly Chenle stayed quiet, either too focused on what he was doing or simply electing to ignore Kun's antics. 

Dinner was a quiet affair, thankfully. Chenle must have worn himself out, because he went down easily for Kun afterwards. Once Jisung was in bed as well, Taeyong finally had a chance to change and get comfy.

When the kitchen was finally in working order, Kun headed into the bedroom. He walked to the dresser to grab fresh clothes and froze when he caught sight of a dark bruise on Taeyong’s stomach. “Tae, where did that bruise come from?” he asked, taking a few steps towards his fiancé.

Taeyong glanced down, just now taking notice of the dark bruise on his abdomen. He poked in curiously, wincing when it hurt. “Probably from Chenle,” he said absentmindedly.

“From Chenle?” Kun asked, eyebrows raised, “what happened?” He had a sneaking suspicion this had something to do with why the toddler was in timeout.

“He had a meltdown when I tried to put him in time out and accidentally kicked me,” Taeyong said with a shrug. It wasn’t really a big deal. After all, the boy hadn’t done it on purpose.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s accidental or not, kicking is not appropriate behavior. Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I would have put him right back in timeout,” Kun said. No wonder the toddler’s behavior was getting worse. He was being let off the hook too easily.

“He didn’t mean to do it, Kunnie,” Taeyong said, “I didn’t even realize that he had bruised me until you said something.”

Kun shook his head. “Of course he didn’t mean to hurt you, but he did. He needs to learn that there are consequences for acting out or else it’s just going to get worse. This is why he’s misbehaving so much,” he said. He knew Taeyong was just going to keep defending the toddler, so he wasn’t sure why he was so insistent. Finally tearing his eyes from his fiancé, he turned back to the dresser.

“I’m doing the best that I can, Kun-ah,” Taeyong said crossly. Why was Kun suddenly blaming him for this? At least he was home.

Kun sighed sadly. “I know and I know it’s hard being alone with both boys. I just don’t want his behavior to get worse, especially if he started kicking,” he said gently as he got changed. He put his clothes in the hamper before crawling into bed and grabbing his book.

“The reason he’s acting out is because he wants me to pay attention to him. He doesn’t want to play with Donghyuck, and I can’t switch with Ducky because he knows nothing about babies. I need you to be home, Kun,” Taeyong said harshly. He didn’t like fighting with his fiancé, but he was barely keeping his head above the water right now.

"I wish I could be home, I really do, but unfortunately we both know that's not a possibility right now," Kun took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I know taking care of both boys is a lot, but I just... I don't like seeing you hurt." He trailed off, voice no more than a whisper by the time he finished his sentence.

"It's not like I like getting hurt," Taeyong grumbled, crossing his arms as he took a hard seat on the bed, his back to Kun, "but I also don't want to do something to make Chenle think that we don't love him anymore. We've got to change something because this arrangement isn't working anymore."

Kun put his book to the side and rolled over onto his side, facing Taeyong. "What do you want to change? The only way I'm going to be able to be home during the day is if I start working nights," he said slowly.

"I would go and yell at your boss myself if I had the time to," Taeyong said, "only giving you two weeks of parental leave is ridiculous, especially when you have more than one kid. Even if you were around for just half of the day, it would things so much easier."

Kun sighed sadly. "The best I can do right now is talk to my boss about switching my hours. I don't know what positions are open so it might take a little time, but I'll do my best. I'm sorry, babe, I wish things were easier," he said. He knew Jisung was going to change their family dynamics, but he never imagined that having a baby would put so much strain on them.

"I'm drowning, Kun-ah," Taeyong admitted quietly, "everything is just barely being held together right now and someone's gonna get hurt if we keep going on like this. I can only hope it's me and not one of the kids."

"Don't think like that, babe," Kun said, pushing himself to sit up. He carefully wrapped himself around Taeyong's back and held him close. "I don't want to see any of you get hurt. We'll fix everything; I promise. Let's start with changing my hours and we'll go from there. Everything's going to be okay."

Taeyong didn't realize he was crying until a tear landed on his hand. "I'm so tired, Kunnie," he said miserably, "I love them so much but it's so hard trying to handle them on my own. I think...I wish we had waited until Chenle was a little older."

Kun's chest tightened when he heard how upset Taeyong sounded. "I-I'm so sorry. I agree; everything would have been easier if Chenle was a little older and I wish I was more careful. I want to help you and I want things to get better, and all I ask is that you tell me stuff as it happens rather than hiding it until you can't take it anymore. I hate seeing you this upset more than anything and it's not fair to you to go through all this alone," he said quietly. He buried his face in his fiancé's neck, despite knowing that it wouldn't help anything.

Taeyong finally relaxed into Kun's hold. They were supposed to be a team in this, but it felt more like they were fighting against each other. Kun was the good parent, the one that could settle problems and dry tears and actually keep things under control. Taeyong? Taeyong was the cause of the problems and the tears.

Kun shifted on the bed so that he could pull Taeyong closer. "We're in this together so let's fix this together, yeah? It's going to take some time and it's not going to go smoothly, but that's what we have each other for," he said supportively. 

"I'm just scared something is gonna happen before we can fix it," Taeyong said quietly, wiping the wetness away from his face.

"And I'll be right here if it does," Kun said immediately, "I can't promise that everything is going to be perfect moving forward, but try not to focus on what could go wrong. We're going to do our best for our family and that's what's important." 

"What if our best still isn't good enough?" Taeyong mumbled sadly. He didn't want to think about the things that could go wrong, but it was the only thing flooding his mind.

“It’s going to be. Look at how tough things were when we first got Chenle. It took some adjusting, but we made it work. This is going to take some adjusting too and as long as we trust each other everything’s gonna be okay,” Kun said.

“Your boss was a lot more flexible when we first got Chenle,” Taeyong pointed out. Ever since Kun had been promoted, his boss had been immovable when it came to time off. Taeyong was starting to face some pressure from his own boss - his editor, that is. He was behind on his manuscript and they could only afford to let him delay it so long, but with the chaos of a new baby, he hadn’t had any time to work on it.

Kun sighed sadly. Taeyong was right, the circumstances were certainly a lot better when they got Chenle, but there was nothing they could do about it now. “We’re going to make this work,” Kun said confidently, “It’s only one more day until the weekend. Let’s just get through tomorrow and we’ll sit down and really figure something out on Saturday.” He didn’t want to push something as important as this aside, but he knew they weren’t going to accomplish anything so late and with emotions running so high.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Taeyong mumbled. He was embarrassed now. It felt like ever since Jisung was born, he hadn’t been able to do anything right, and that included maintaining his relationship with Kun.

“Don’t apologize for that,” Kun said pressing a soft kiss into the crook of Taeyong’s neck, “you’re stretched to your limit and I don’t blame you for being upset. I’d rather you take it out on me rather than the boys. Especially considering this is partially my fault.”

Taeyong sighed. He shrugged Kun’s arms off of him so he could lay down and roll over to face his fiancé. “I should apologize to Chenle in the morning, right?”

“Apologize to Chenle? For putting him in timeout? Absolutely not,” Kun said slightly confused, “He needs to understand that there are consequences for his bad behavior. If you apologize he’s just going to learn that yelling and kicking are okay and they aren’t.” Kun had to admit he was a little concerned that Taeyong wanted to apologize to the toddler.

“Well, yeah, but...I made him cry, Kunnie. And I wasn’t exactly gentle with him. I practically dragged him down the hallway. I  _ scared _ him. The reason he was so quiet at dinner was because I made him scared of me,” Taeyong said regretfully.

Kun chewed on his lip, that certainly threw a wrench in things. “See how is he is the morning. If he’s quiet and avoids you sit him down and explain that you didn’t mean to hurt him but that his behavior upset you. As long as you apologize for the right thing and make sure he understands that his outburst was still bad I think it’ll be okay,” he said.

Taeyong nodded slowly. That made sense. He still felt incredibly guilty and probably would for a while. It was ridiculous. He was anxious about talking to his own child. This was definitely a new low.

"You have to promise me that'll you'll tell me honestly how that goes and if I have to talk to Chenle I will, okay?" Kun asked. He could see the unease written across Taeyong's face and he wished he could take it away.

Taeyong nodded again, turning his face slightly to hide most of it in the pillow. Now that the anger and emotion was gone, he just felt drained.

Kun laid down next to Taeyong wrapped his arm around his fiancé so he could pull him closer. "I love you," he whispered softly. It felt like it had been much too long since he had said that and it made him feel all the more guilty.

“I love you too,” Taeyong said quietly. If there was one thing that he hoped Kun always knew, it was that.

Kun smiled softly. "Get some rest, babe," he said gently, knowing he really didn't need to say it. He knew he wouldn't be getting any rest until he was sure Taeyong was asleep but that didn't bother him in the slightest.

“Can you take over baby duty for the next few hours?” Taeyong mumbled tiredly, already reaching up to take out his hearing aids.

"Of course. Don't worry about Jisungie tonight; I'll take care of him," Kun said soothingly. He loosened his hold on Taeyong so the elder could put his aids on the nightstand. 

Well, that wasn’t quite fair. Neither he nor Kun had gotten a full night’s sleep since Jisung has been born, so Taeyong wouldn’t mind being woken up in the early hours of the morning to take over. He just needed a few hours to pretend he was rested, that was all. “Wake me up when you want to switch,” he mumbled, already drifting off.

Kun had absolutely no intentions of waking up Taeyong, but his fiancé didn't need to know that until morning. When Jisung woke up crying a few hours later, Kun wordlessly got up and brought the toddler into the living room to feed him. They continued that routine every few hours until morning came and Kun had to leave for work. Only then did he finally wake up Taeyong.

When Taeyong woke up, he found that it was morning. He pursed his lips; he was grateful that Kun had let him sleep but he also felt guilty for not doing his part. With a groan, he got out of bed, slipped in his ears, and checked on Jisung before heading to Chenle’s room. The boy was still fast asleep and didn’t wake when Taeyong carefully scooped him up to bring the boy back to bed with him. He figured they all deserved a lazy morning, at least until Jisung got hungry.

Kun was grateful that his boss was willing to meet with him and was even more happy at the agreement they had come up with. He couldn't wait to get home to talk to Taeyong, but he knew that was only going to make the day drag on.

Kun must have fed and changed Jisung just before he left because the baby stayed happily asleep well into the morning. When he did wake up, it wasn’t for food or a diaper change. Taeyong lifted him out of the bassinet and laid him on his chest while he waited for Chenle to finally wake up.

Kun hadn't had a day this long in months. All he wanted to do was get home to his boys and the clock seemed to be ticking that much slower to play tricks on him. It seemed like he had been at work for days when in reality it was just past halfway through the morning.

Taeyong hummed softly, letting Jisung grip onto his finger tightly. “Hi, baby,” he said softly, “did you have a good night with Kun baba last night?” The infant obvious didn’t respond, but he did lift his head in response to Taeyong’s voice.

By the time it was Kun's lunch break he couldn't take it anymore. He snuck his phone and quickly texted Taeyong asking how everything was going and if he needed anything.

Chenle had woken up around eleven, which was odd for him. Taeyong wondered if he had been having trouble sleeping since the baby had arrived. He had made sure to sit the boy down and explain why he had gotten in trouble the day before. Chenle seemed to perk up after that, realizing that quiet time with the baby would mean that they would all get to play together.

Kun wasn’t surprised he didn’t get an answer considering how busy Taeyong must be with the boys. It looked like he would have to wait until he got home later that evening to see how everything went.

Once Donghyuck arrived and managed to distract Chenle with cooking lunch, Taeyong was able to check his phone. He smiled slightly when he saw a text from Kun. Raising the phone, he took a picture of Jisung curled up on his chest to send back.

Kun heard his phone buzz from inside his desk. He knew it was risky to check it but he wanted to make sure it wasn’t important. Carefully he snuck the phone onto his lap like he used to do in college and opened the message. His heart swelled when he saw the picture and he made a mental note to print it for their scrapbook. He quickly shoved his phone back in his desk and willed the day to go faster.

Taeyong sent another text about having solved things with Chenle before putting his phone down and focusing on Jisung. It was getting close to feeding time again, so Taeyong carried the infant into the kitchen to prepare him a bottle of formula.

Kun didn’t see Taeyong’s second text until he was leaving the office. He was glad that everything had gone well with Chenle and he hoped the toddler was better behaved today.

It had been a quiet day in, thankfully. Donghyuck had snuck Chenle out to the park for a little while and brought him back wiped out. The boy napped for about an hour and was begging to see his brother when he woke up.

“Baba, I wanna play with Jisungie,” Chenle said when he found Taeyong. He pulled himself onto the couch, plopped down next to his father, and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

“Do you want me to help you hold him?” Taeyong offered.

Chenle nodded eagerly. He scooted a little closer, waiting for Taeyong to lift Jisung so he could crawl onto his lap.

Taeyong carefully set Jisung down, nestled into the center of a breastfeeding pillow that Yuta had gotten him as a joke. He helped Chenle settle in his lap before carefully picking up the baby again and helping the older boy hold him.

"Hi, Jisungie!" Chenle greeted chipperly when the baby was set in his lap. He immediately stuck a finger in the baby's hand so he would hold on. Try as he might he could never quite shake Jisung's finger off and it was his favorite game to play with his brother. 

Taeyong smiled as he watched Chenle play with Jisung. “Just remember to be gentle,” he said, knowing that Chenle could get rowdy with flinging his hand around.

“Be gentle,” Chenle repeated. He was so focused on his brother’s hand that he didn’t notice the baby staring at him at first. “Baba, he’s looking at me!” he said excitedly, a wide smile spreading across his face.

“Lean a little closer to him, baby, he’ll be able to see you better,” Taeyong said. He cupped Jisung’s head with his hand so he could stretch his leg out.

Chenle immediately did as he was told, but Jisung didn’t react any differently. He pouted down at his brother but continued to watch him closely, waiting for a reaction.

Taeyong glanced at the clock on the wall across from them. It was getting close to time to feed Jisung again, but he would wait until the baby got fussy or Chenle got bored.

Chenle stayed where he was, shaking his finger gently this way and that. Suddenly Jisung let out a loud whimper causing Chenle to sit upright. “Baba...” he began nervously. He really thought he had been gentle enough.

"It's okay, Lele," Taeyong said with a small smile, "Jisungie's just hungry. Do you want to get up and help me feed him?"

“Yeah!” Chenle said eagerly. He immediately forgot his original panic and waited for instructions on what to do next.

Taeyong moved Jisung back over to the pillow so that Chenle could get up. Once the boy was on the ground, he stood up, cradling Jisung to his chest, and led the way into the kitchen.

Chenle followed his father a little too closely into the kitchen. He ended up stepping on Taeyong's heel and gasped loudly when he realized his mistake. "Sorry, baba," he said quickly, eyes darting to the floor.

"It's okay, baby, it was an accident," Taeyong said gently. He used his foot to nudged Chenle's stool over to the counter and waited for the boy to climb up.

Chenle wordlessly climbed up onto his stool. He folded his arms on the counter and rested his chin on them, gazing up at Taeyong as he waited.

Taeyong carefully cradled Jisung in the crook of one arm so he could reach up and pull down a clean bottle and the tub of formula. "You're gonna help me mix this, right, Lele?"

Chenle nodded as best as he could with his chin on his arm. He watched Taeyong closely, even though he almost knew the routine by heart at this point.

"Can you get me a little water bottle from the fridge?" Taeyong asked as he pried open the can of formula. He scooped the proper amount of powder into the bottle before closing the can and putting it back on the upper shelf.

Chenle hopped down from his stool and wandered over to the fridge. He grabbed the last water bottle from its spot on the bottom shelf and promptly returned to his spot at the counter. "Here, baba!" he said triumphantly upon his return.

"Thanks, Lele! Can you open it for me carefully?" he asked.

Chenle grabbed the water bottle, but try as he might the cap simply wouldn't budge. "Baba, I can't do it," he whined, holding the bottle towards his father.

Trying not to jostle Jisung too much, Taeyong laid the infant over his shoulder and supported his bottom with his forearm as he took the bottle from Chenle. He cracked it open and set it down on the counter. He slid the bottle of formula powder over and instructed Chenle on how to carefully pour the water into the powder.

Chenle hadn't really helped this much before so he was a little nervous. He knew it had to be perfect and he didn't want to risk getting in trouble for doing it wrong. Almost too carefully, he poured just as much water as Taeyong said. No more, no less. Smiling proudly, he put the water bottle back on the counter and looked up at his father.

Taeyong pulled a spoon out of the drawer and handed it to Chenle. "Mix it slowly, Lele," he said, "we need to get the clumps out and then we'll shake it, okay?"

Chenle's eyes widened and he cautiously took the spoon from Taeyong. He started mixing very slowly but quickly realized that wasn't working very well so he increased his speed ever so slightly. When he was nearly done, Jisung let out another cry, which made the toddler jump and nearly knock the bottle over.

Taeyong quickly reached out to steady the bottle. Once he was sure it wouldn't tip over, he brought his free hand up to rub Jisung's back a couple times. "Can you put the lid on really tight for me?"

Chenle did his best to screw the top on, but it simply wouldn't line up. He wasn't quite tall enough, even with the stool, to get the leverage he needed. With a huff, he hoisted himself up onto the counter so he could reach better.

"Careful, Lele," Taeyong said worriedly, moving to catch the boy if he fell. Fortunately, Chenle managed to sit safely on the counter.

Now that he was sitting on the counter it was much easier for Chenle to screw the top onto the bottle. When he was finished he held the bottle out towards Taeyong. "All done!" he announced loudly, his proud smile back on his face.

"Good job, Chenle!" Taeyong praised as he took the bottle. He set it on the counter for a moment to pull the warmer out from against the wall and turn it on. As the warmer began to heat up, Taeyong picked up the bottle again and, covering the opening with his finger, shook it as vigorously as he could. Once the warmer was ready, he put the bottle in and started a timer for three minutes.

Chenle swung his legs absently, letting them fall back against the cabinets below him. He changed up the speed of his feet every so often, enjoying the sounds of his newfound instrument.

When the timer went off, Taeyong pulled the bottle out and tested the temperature of the formula against the back of his hand. He deemed it okay and turned to help Chenle off the counter. "Can you carry the bottle back to the couch for me, baby?"

Chenle nodded and immediately abandoned his impromptu drum session so he could hop down from the counter. Once both feet were firmly planted on the floor, he grabbed the bottle from Taeyong and led the way back to the living room.

Taeyong followed Chenle with a smile on his face and settled Jisung back on the pillow to help the boy get up on the couch without spilling the formula. Just as he got Chenle settled on his lap, the door opened, signaling that Kun was home.

"Hi, boys, how was your day?" Kun greeted chipperly. Usually Chenle came bounding over to greet him, but by the looks of it the toddler was busy being a good helper. Kun smiled fondly as he slipped off his shoes and jacket.

"We had a nice quiet day today, didn't we, Lele?" Taeyong said happily. He carefully settled Jisung on the boy's lap and helped him get the baby started eating.

"That's so great to hear," Kun said. He was planning on taking a shower right when he got home, but he didn't want to miss watching Chenle help feed Jisung so he settled into the arm chair instead.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Jisung suckle at the bottle hungrily. Chenle was completely enamored watching his baby brother. Taeyong wasn't even sure if he noticed Kun come home.

Kun watched Chenle closely, a sense of pride swelling in his chest. The toddler really was the perfect older brother he knew he would be. He felt bad that he had missed so much of this, but it wouldn't be that way for much longer.

"Lele, Kun baba's home," Taeyong said teasingly, causing the boy to finally look up.

"Hi, baby," Kun greeted when he saw Chenle's smile, "finish feeding Jisungie and than you can come give me a hug." Chenle stopped wiggling and turned his attention back to Jisung, hoping the baby would be finished soon.

"Kun-ah, can you go grab me a cloth?" Taeyong asked, "Jisungie's dribbling a little bit." Chenle's moving had dislodged the bottle a little bit so a few drips had gotten on the baby's cheek.

"Sure," Kun said pushing himself up from the chair. He grabbed a cloth from the kitchen and went back to the trio on the couch. "Did Chenle get you all dirty?" he cooed to Jisung as he wiped the formula from his son's cheek. He handed the cloth to Taeyong, just in case, and sat down next to his fiancé.

Taeyong tossed the cloth over his shoulder, knowing he'd need it for when he burped Jisung anyway. "Thanks, babe," he said.

Kun smiled softly, his eyes trailing back to his sons. They were both absolutely adorable and he was beyond thrilled that he would be able to spend more time with them. He could barely contain himself from telling Taeyong and he was jolted out of his thoughts when Jisung whined.

"How was your day?" Taeyong asked, looking up at Kun.

"It was great," Kun said happily, "I talked with my boss today about my hours. He agreed to let me work mornings as long as I finish my reports for the following day. Now I'll be able to be home all afternoon with you!" He was originally planning on waiting until tonight to tell Taeyong, but he couldn't help himself.

Taeyong could feel himself sag in relief. That would be such a big help to him. "Thank God," he muttered.

Kun smiled widely. "Do you like that idea, Lele? Me being home in the afternoons with you?" he asked. "We can play?" the toddler asked hopefully. "Of course, baby," Kun replied happily, pulling the toddler closer for another hug.

Taeyong smiled at the sight in front of him. Once Jisung had finished the bottle, he set the bottle aside and lifted the baby to his shoulder to burp him, setting Chenle free.

"Baba, play now?" Chenle asked, hopping off the couch. "I have to shower then we have to cook, but after dinner we can play until it's bath time," Kun bargained. He was met with a pout, but to his surprise the toddler turned around and went to play by himself regardless.

"He was really good today," Taeyong said. On his shoulder, Jisung lifted his head and seemed to try to look around, despite not really being able to see anything.

"That's great to hear," Kun said a little distracted. Chenle was usually much more resistant when he was told he wouldn't play. Maybe it was a good thing the boy hadn't started to throw a fit, but it seemed odd to Kun. He shook his head and turned to look, just in time to catch Jisung picking his head up. "Whatcha looking for, baby?" he asked softly, rubbing his son's cheek with the back of his finger.

"He's just lookin'," Taeyong said softly. He cupped the back of Jisung's head carefully to help the baby stay upright a little longer.

Kun watched his son for a few more minutes before regretfully pulling himself from the couch. Before he left he was sure to gently kiss both of his boys' temples. He wordlessly disappeared down the hallway, peeking his head into Chenle's room for a moment. The toddler was playing much quieter than usual and Kun watched him closely for a few minutes before finally pulling himself into the bathroom.

With a sigh, Taeyong kicked his feet up on the couch and laid down with Jisung still on his shoulder.

“Lele, are you ready to help me cook dinner?” Kun asked when he reappeared in the toddler’s doorway ten minutes later. Chenle wordlessly put down his toys and wandered lethargically over to Kun. “What’s going on, baby?” Kun asked as he knelt down to pull the toddler into his arms. Chenle simply threw his arms around Kun’s shoulders and snuggled as close as he could.

Taeyong hummed softly, hoping he could lull Jisung to sleep soon. He would have to change his diaper soon too, but he wanted to lay down for another few minutes.

“Oh, baby, what’s going on?” Kun asked gently. He was unsurprisingly met with no answer. Sighing softly, he carried the toddler into the living room. “Hey, Tae, did Chenle go down for a nap today?” he asked. He hated the idea of this being something worse so he really hoped the toddler was simply tired.

"Yeah, Donghyuck wore him out at the park and he slept for a good hour," Taeyong said. He glanced over at his fiancé and their older son. "Is something wrong?

Kun sighed and rubbed Chenle's back gently. "He's been acting off tonight and I was just wondering if he could be tired," he replied simply. He knew the toddler had been very well behaved today so he didn't know where his boisterous nature had gone.

"He's seemed fine all day," Taeyong said. He carefully got up, still holding Jisung securely. "I'm gonna go change 'Sung so I can get him down for a bit." With that, he disappeared into the bedroom.

Kun was utterly bewildered that Taeyong wasn't that concerned, but he quickly shook off his worries. "Do you want to lay down while I cook?" he asked. Chenle vehemently shook his head and tightened his grip on Kun's neck. Kun sighed softly and made his way into the kitchen, grateful that he had mastered the art of cooking with one hand.

Taeyong took his time getting Jisung changed and ready for bed. The baby was obviously very sleepy and Taeyong was glad to see that he went down easily. He walked back into the kitchen. "How can I help?" he asked.

Kun wasn't expecting Taeyong to come back into the kitchen, but Jisung must have gone down quickly. He almost asked his fiancé to take Chenle, but he was with the boys all day on top of the fact that he knew the toddler had no intentions on releasing his death grip anytime soon. "Do you mind watching these noodles?" Kun asked, "I'm down a hand or I would be fine otherwise." He felt guilty asking for help, but it was better than burning anything.

"Yeah, of course," Taeyong said. He ruffled Chenle's hair as he walked past. "What's wrong, baby?" he murmured, "you tired?"

Chenle whined loudly and buried his face further in Kun's neck. "I'm gonna take that as a yes," Kun said softly, "hopefully this means he'll get a good night's rest and will feel better in the morning."

"I hope so," Taeyong said, pursing his lips. He wondered what had caused the sudden change in the boy. "Now that I think of it, he did sleep in really late this morning. Maybe he hasn't been sleeping very well?"

"I wonder if Jisungie wakes him up," Kun said, "I'll keep a close eye on him tonight to see if that's the case." He wasn't really sure what they could do for the toddler if the noise was what was keeping him awake.

“Hopefully we won’t have to take him to a doctor or something,” Taeyong said, worrying his lip as he stirred the pasta, “I would hate for this to be a problem for him.”

"I hope not either. The only thing is that if Jisung is keeping him up where are we going to move him? He doesn't need to be in our room that much longer and he has no where else to go other than Chenle's room," Kun said. He didn't think only having one bedroom for both boys was going to be a problem, but here they were.

"I think we should start looking into moving," Taeyong said after a minute of silence, "a house, not an apartment. Something with a backyard and separate bedrooms for the kids."

Kun let out the breath he was holding. He knew they would have to move eventually; a two bedroom apartment simply would not work for a family of four for very long, but he didn't think it would come up so suddenly. "Now that I'm going to be home more it should be easier to start looking," he said. He loved the idea of having a house with a yard for the boys to play in and his mind was already wandering.

Taeyong nodded in agreement. The backyard was definitely a necessity; it was too much for just him to handle to pack both boys up to take them to a park. They could even start looking this weekend.

Dinner was finished within the next few minutes and Kun knew the next challenge was going to be getting Chenle into his own seat. The toddler had fallen asleep on his shoulder sometime during his and Taeyong's conversation and he almost felt bad for waking him up. "Lele, do you want to try eating something?" he asked when he knew he had the toddler's attention. Chenle quietly whined a "no" before repositioning himself in Kun's arms.

"Want me to take him?" Taeyong offered. He knew Kun had had a long day and he himself had eaten not all that long ago, so he was okay waiting to eat.

"Lele, why don't you go with Taeyong baba just for a few minutes so I can eat, okay? We can snuggle more after I promise" he said gently. He carefully began unwrapping the toddler's arms from his neck so he could hand him to his fiancé.

Taeyong took Chenle into his arms and sat in his seat at the table so that the boy could still be close to Kun. He brushed the boy's hair out of his face and frowned when Chenle simply laid his head on his shoulder with a tired whine.

"Oh, baby," Kun murmured sadly. He reached over and laid his hand against the toddler's forehead and was relieved to find it wasn't hot. "Well I don't think he's sick so really the only thing it could be is that he's tired, but there's been nights he hasn't slept well and he's never been quite like this," he said worriedly.

"I don't know what could be wrong," Taeyong said worriedly. He rubbed Chenle's back, trying to make the boy feel better. It didn't seem to be much help.

"I don't know either," Kun said, "maybe we can let him stay with us tonight and see if we can figure out what's going on? I know that means he'll be closer to Jisung but if the baby is waking him up it'll be easier to figure out that way." He knew they couldn't let him sleep with them every time he was upset but this was something completely different.

"Would you like that, Lele?" Taeyong said, pulling his head back to look at the boy, "you wanna stay with me and Kun baba and Jisungie tonight?"

Chenle nodded tiredly against Taeyong's shoulder. Kun didn't like the idea of the toddler not eating anything, but he was already falling asleep again so there was no point in trying. Instead he focused on finishing his own dinner. "Do you want me to take him back so you can eat?" he asked. He hoped that they could figure out what was going on with Chenle soon because they certainly couldn't do dinner like this for very long.

"Yeah, but don't rush," Taeyong said, "I don't mind holding him for a bit."

Kun nodded. It seemed like ever since Jisung had come home their lives had done a complete 180. Of course he knew bringing home a baby would change a lot of things, but he certainly never imagined this. Hopefully moving would be just as good for the boys as it was for them.

“I think I’m gonna pack my dinner and eat it a little later,” Taeyong said, “we ate lunch late and I’m not quite hungry yet. Plus, I wanna get Lele to bed and feeling better as soon as possible.”

"Alright. I'll clean up the kitchen and I'll meet you two in bed," Kun said, already standing to take his dirty dished to the sink. He was sure to put away the leftovers before focusing on cleaning the rest of the kitchen.

Chenle whined miserably as Taeyong stood up. Taeyong could feel the boy’s fingers clenching in his shirt. “It’s okay, baby, we’re gonna get you in bed soon,” he murmured. They went to Chenle’s room first to get him changed then to the master bedroom to lay down.

Kun’s heart shattered. He hadn’t seen his baby this upset since he and Taeyong had gotten sick from getting caught in the rain. He washed all of the dishes as quickly as possible and didn’t even bother to dry them. He was much more concerned about getting to his son, which is exactly where he was headed.


	28. Chapter 28

Taeyong glanced over Jisung to make sure the baby was still sleeping soundly before he laid down in bed with Chenle. The boy was still clinging to him tightly.

Kun walked into the bedroom to see Chenle still practically glued to Taeyong. The toddler was already half asleep, but to Kun’s surprise seemed to be trying to keep himself awake. “Go to sleep, Lele,” he said soothingly as he climbed into bed, “everything’s okay.”

Taeyong rubbed Chenle’s back, humming softly to help the boy fall asleep easier. This whole thing was really starting to worry him.

Kun laid there simply watching his boys, what more could he do? Chenle eventually fell asleep and everything was quiet for a little bit. At least until Jisung woke up with a loud cry. Kun rolled himself over so he could check on the baby, but didn’t miss Chenle’s eyes fly open.

“Shh, baby, it’s okay,” Taeyong murmured as Chenle whined. The boy buried his face in his neck and Taeyong could’ve sworn he felt tears. Poor Chenle must be exhausted.

Jisung only began to cry louder and Kun quickly walked over to the bassinet. He lifted the baby into his arms and carried him to the kitchen.

"Lele, baby, what's wrong?" Taeyong asked softly as he sat up with the boy still clinging to his neck. He brushed Chenle's hair back, frowning slightly.

“I-Is Jisungie hurt?” Chenle asked meekly. The baby cried a lot, especially at night, and it scared him.

“No, baby, he’s not hurt,” Taeyong explained gently, “he might be hungry or need a new diaper, or maybe he’s just lonely down there. Kun baba’s gonna make him feel better though.”

Chenle sniffled and snuggled closer. “Baba, promise?” he asked, voice muffled.

“I promise, baby,” Taeyong said, “Jisungie just cries because he doesn’t have any other way to tell us things.”

Chenle settled himself comfortably in Taeyong's lap and closed his eyes. He whined softly when he could still hear Jisung crying from the other room and tried to hide his head more, but it wasn't working.

Taeyong got up, Chenle still in his arms, and shut the bedroom door to dampen the sounds of Jisung’s crying. It was almost sweet that Chenle couldn’t sleep because he was worried about his brother. “Jisungie’s gonna be fine, baby, don’t worry,” he said softly.

"Baba...," Chenle began but he quickly clamped his mouth shut. He snuggled closer and hoped that Taeyong didn't hear him.

Taeyong hummed. “What is it, Lele?”

"Wanna help Jisungie feel better," Chenle said quietly. He wasn't sure how he would do that, but he didn't quite think that far ahead.

Taeyong smiled softly. “Kun baba’s gonna bring him back in here once he calms down a bit so you can help him then, okay?”

Chenle was satisfied with that and curled back up in Taeyong's lap. He hadn't had the chance to snuggle with Taeyong like this in a long time and he missed it. Despite his best efforts, by the time Kun brought Jisung back to the bedroom, Chenle was fast asleep. "How is he?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake up either of the boys

“He’s okay,” Taeyong said, rubbing Chenle’s back, “he was scared that Jisung was hurt. Wanted to help him feel better, but ended up passing out instead.”

Kun smiled softly and carefully laid Jisung back in the bassinet. He climbed into bed and reached over to smooth out Chenle's hair and the toddler didn't even stir. "He really is the perfect big brother we knew he was going to be; I just wish he didn't lose sleep because of it," he whispered.

“Our little worrywart,” Taeyong said fondly, carefully laying back down with Chenle still on his chest.

Kun's small smile quickly faltered. "What can we do? We know Jisungie's keeping him up, but there's nothing we can do about him crying," he said worriedly.

"I think he'll sleep easier once he realizes that Jisungie's just talking and not hurt," Taeyong said, "we just have to make sure he knows that."

Kun nodded in agreement. “Poor baby was probably scared this whole past month and we had no idea,” he whispered miserably.

"We've all been distracted," Taeyong said. He felt bad trying to justify ignoring Chenle's feelings, but the past month had been a lot on all of them.

Kun sighed sadly. “That we have,” he murmured in agreement. Hopefully with his hour change everything would go a lot more smoothly.

"Now that we know what's wrong, we can address it," Taeyong said soothingly, "but we're both tired and he's dead asleep, so we'll address it  _ tomorrow _ ."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kun said stifling a yawn. He rolled onto his stomach, gathering his pillow in his arms. 

Taeyong smiled. He pressed his lips to the top of Chenle's head gently. "I don't think I'll be able to get up with Jisung at all tonight," he whispered apologetically, "Lele's got a pretty tight hold on me. Maybe don't leave with him next time he wakes up though. I think it scares him more to not be able to see for himself that Jisungie's okay."

"Don't worry about Jisungie. I'll keep him in here when he wakes up again" Kun murmured as he eyes slowly closed. He was more tired than he anticipated and didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he jumped awake a few hours later when Jisung started crying.

It took Taeyong a little longer to fall asleep, since Chenle's weight on his chest made it a little hard to breathe as easily. When they all woke up next, he felt the boy's arms tighten around his neck. He sat them both up, waiting for Kun to come back to bed with the baby.

Kun took Jisung into the kitchen with him, singing softly to the baby while he made him a bottle. When it was ready, he carried his son back into the bedroom and carefully crawled into bed. "He's okay, Lele," he said soothingly when he saw the toddler looking at him with big eyes.

"See, he's just hungry," Taeyong said softly, voice marred by sleep. He carefully pried the boy's fingers off of his shirt and sat him in his lap so he could watch Kun feed Jisung. "Jisungie needs a lot of food so he can grow big and strong like you," he explained.

Jisung quickly quieted down once he started eating. "Baba, don't want him to get bigger," Chenle said nervously. He leaned closer to Kun, but didn't dare crawl off of Taeyong's lap.

"Awh, baby, why not?" Taeyong asked. A small smile played at his lips. He had a slight inkling that Chenle didn't want his brother to ever be bigger than him.

"He can't get bigger than me," Chenle said almost like it was obvious. Kun chuckled quietly. Considering Chenle's current size it didn't look like he would get his wish, but Jisung would stay small enough to appease the toddler for a long time.

"He won't get big like you for a while, baby, don't worry," Taeyong said with a small laugh, "and by the time he is, you'll be bigger too!"

Chenle perked up at that. Only when Jisung was done eating did he lay back down on Taeyong's chest. "Baba, can Jisungie stay with us tonight?" he asked.

"It's a little too dangerous for him to lay up here because he's so little, but we can move the bassinet closer to the bed," Taeyong said. He glanced over at Kun.

"I'm sorry, baby, but he can't stay yet. When he falls back asleep, I'll move the bassinet," Kun said. "When can he stay?" Chenle asked, a small pout on his lips.

Taeyong balked at that. He wasn't really sure when it would be okay for them to co-sleep with Jisung without worrying about hurting them. "Probably when he's big enough to move on his own, in a couple of months," he answered tentatively.

Chenle pouted more; he didn't want to wait that long. Kun carefully positioned Jisung on his chest so that he could reach over to run his fingers through Chenle's hair. "You'll be able to sleep with him soon, baby, I promise," he said softly. He didn't like seeing Chenle this upset, but there was nothing he could do about this.

“You can lay with him for a little bit now until he falls asleep again,” Taeyong said, “Kun baba can show you how to hold him on his tummy.”

Chenle looked up at Kun hopefully, but didn't move. "Come here, baby," Kun said, shifting Jisung to his shoulder. The toddler didn't need to be told twice and immediately settled into Kun's lap. Kun carefully moved Jisung, with minimal protest, into Chenle's lap and helped the boy hold the baby. "Be gentle, baby," he reminded.

Taeyong let out a sigh of relief when Chenle finally moved off of him. He had needed to pee for so long, but a clingy toddler was always his first priority. He quickly darted off to the bathroom.

Kun barely noticed Taeyong leave the room. His focus was on the two boys in his lap. Chenle was extremely careful with the baby and had even taken to rubbing his back like Kun was doing a few moments ago. It was hard to believe that the toddler sitting in his lap was really only three years old.

When Taeyong came back, he couldn’t resist taking a picture. The bedside lamp has been turned on, casting just the right light for this photo op. It was such a precious moment, Chenle holding Jisung so closely, that he had to save it.

Kun looked up just in time to see Taeyong put his phone down. He smiled softly and looked back down at his boys. Jisung was well on his way to falling back asleep and Chenle looked nowhere near ready to let him go.

Taeyong set his phone on the nightstand and carefully reclined on the bed. “He’s almost asleep, Lele,” he said, “you’re doing such a good job.”

Chenle smiled proudly. Jisung was completely content to lay against his brother's chest and was asleep within the next few minutes. "Alright, Lele," Kun said after a little while, "it's time to put Jisungie back to bed." The toddler shook his head in response, despite being mid yawn.

Taeyong ran a hand through Chenle’s hair. “Just a few more minutes, okay, baby?” he said, voice leaving no room for arguments. Both his boys needed to get their rest.

Chenle nodded, knowing better than to argue. He leaned back against Kun more and yawned again. Kun leaned down and kissed the top of Chenle’s head gently. “You’re such a good big brother, Lele,” he murmured.

“You know Kun baba and I are really proud of you, right, Lele?” Taeyong asked quietly, “you’ve been so patient with Jisungie, it makes us really happy.”

Chenle smiled proudly. Despite his intentions, he couldn’t hide his face anywhere with Jisung still on his lap. “Bedtime?” he asked a few minutes later. “Yeah, baby, it’s bedtime. Say goodnight,” Kun replied. Chenle gave Jisung the gentlest kiss Kun had ever seen and waited for his father to lift the baby off his lap. When he was free he scrambled off of Kun’s lap and back over to Taeyong, promptly burying his face in his neck.

Taeyong grunted when Chenle slammed into him once again. “You can’t squish Kun baba like this?” he teased.

Kun chuckled quietly as he carefully stood from the bed to tuck Jisung in. Once the baby was settled down, he moved the bassinet closer to the bed. “Do you want to come lay with me?” he asked the toddler when he climbed back into bed. Chenle shook his head and snuggled closer to Taeyong.

"It's okay, Chenle's my little snugglebug, aren't you, baby?" Taeyong teased. Chenle nodded, tucking his head into his father's neck.

Kun smiled softly. “Get some sleep, boys,” he murmured gently, settling himself down so he could get a couple more hours of shut eye before Jisung woke up again.

Taeyong smiled softly as Chenle snuggled closer to him. Before long, the boy was snoring softly on his chest. “We have the best kids,” he said quietly.

"That we do," Kun agreed softly. He pillowed his head on his arms so he could watch his fiancé and eldest son until he fell asleep again. In the following weeks, they easily settled into a routine with Kun’s new hours. Despite him being a little more tired, everything was going was more smoothly. One day in his haste to get out of work on time, Kun forgot his laptop on his desk, but he didn’t realize it until he went to begin his work after the boys were asleep. “Hey, Tae, can I borrow your laptop tonight?” he asked shyly, “I forgot mine at work.”

“Yeah, of course,” Taeyong said, gesturing vaguely toward his desk. His nose was deep in a new novel and he wasn’t really paying attention to anything else.

"Thanks, babe," Kun said slipping off the bed. He snagged the laptop from the desk and turned it back on as he got comfortable again. Surprisingly what Taeyong was looking popped right up and Kun went to minimize it, but was caught off guard when he realized it was houses. He couldn't help scrolling through and marveled at home perfect some of them were. He could already see Chenle and Jisung running around some of them and he hoped they weren't too far from the city center. 

Taeyong didn’t even realize that his tabs were still up. He had been browsing houses, trying to come up with suggestions for Kun, but not quite finding what he wanted.

Kun balked when he finally looked at the location of the houses. No wonder they were too good to be true; they we're all much too far. "Tae, why were you looking at houses in L.A.?" he asked slowly. He didn't like to snoop, but he also didn't want to hide the fact that he saw. Besides, he couldn't quite wrap his head around why his fiancé would waste his time looking for houses that weren't an option for them.

“Huh? Oh, I was thinking maybe the states could be a good option for us,” Taeyong said absentmindedly. Sure, it was a big move, but they would be able to have a much better life for their kids.

Kun shook his head sadly. "That's so far. We'd have to start almost completely over. On top of trying to get both kids there. Tae, I'm sorry, but I really don't think this is a good idea," he said. His mind was swimming with reasons this wouldn't be a good idea. He always tried to stay optimistic, but it was hard when the subject at hand was a move to a completely different country.

“We wouldn’t have to pay to put the kids through school,” Taeyong said, finally putting his book down, “your field pays better in the states too.”

"This is moving to a whole different country we're talking about. None of us speak English, Jisung is much too little to take on a plane, Chenle's already settled here who knows how he'd react,  _ and _ we'll be moving away from everyone," Kun said. Sure there were a lot of positives that could come with moving to the states, but it was much too much hassle for what it was worth. More than anything, Kun was not fond of the idea of moving to a whole new country again; it had been hard enough the first time.

“It’s not like we would be moving tomorrow,” Taeyong said, “we can learn English in the time it’ll take to find and buy a house and take Jisung on a plane. And I think Chenle will be fine anywhere as long as he’s with us.”

"Moving to another country isn't going to be that simple. Maybe we manage to find a house, learn English, and get the boys there. What if in that time I don't find a job? What if the boys don't adjust well? On top of everything that could go wrong, our family is here and I really don't like the idea of moving so far away from them," he said. Kun knew he was being selfish, but the thought of moving so far was incredibly off putting.

“It’ll be hard but I really think it’s the best choice,” Taeyong said. He didn’t want to disclose his real reasoning. It was selfish.

"Think about it, Tae. Chenle  _ loves  _ having Jeno to play with. I'm sure he could make some new friends, but why take that away from him? So we don't have to pay for their school? No, it's not worth it. Besides Johnny and Mark are here. Do you really want to move that far away from them?" Kun asked. He was surprised Taeyong was still so dead set on this; his fiancé really didn't see the whole picture.

“There are some things that are worth that sacrifice, yes,” Taeyong said quietly, “we could get married, Kun.”

Kun froze. He let his head fall back against the headboard and he squeezed his eyes shut. This whole conversation he thought it was Taeyong who didn't fully understand, when in reality it was himself. There was truly nothing he wanted more than to finally get married, but the thought of moving somewhere so far to do that was terrifying. 

“We can’t do that here and there are protections that we can’t have unless we’re married,” Taeyong said, “what if something happened to one of us? We don’t have the power to make medical decisions for each other. We would be able to have family health insurance instead of putting the boys on yours and me needing to get my own. And that’s just the start.”

Kun nodded slowly. "I want to get married, I really do," he said sincerely, "and I know this will really benefit our whole family, but..." He let himself trail off. He had to learn to let go of his worries and start focusing on his family.

“I know it’s a big decision, Kunnie, I know that,” Taeyong said, “but with the baby here now, I don’t think we can drag out waiting any longer. This was always going to have to happen.”

Kun took a deep breath and forced his eyes open, but he couldn't bring himself to look at Taeyong yet. "You're right," he said slowly, "I just think we need to take our time with this." He didn't want to drag his heels with everything, but he especially didn't want to rush; especially with something as serious as this.

“Applying for visas and green cards and everything will take a while,” Taeyong said, “we definitely have time.”

Kun nodded again. He carefully reached over to take Taeyong's hand in his own and squeezed it gently. "This will be good for us," he said as confidently as he could manage.

“The only thing that makes me hesitant is that we’ll have to renounce any other citizenships that we hold,” Taeyong said slowly. They would still be able to come back to visit, but he would no longer be a Korean citizen, and Kun would no longer have ties to China.

Kun sighed quietly. "We have plenty of time to discuss this more. This certainly isn't going to get decided on in a day," he said quietly. It was almost the weekend and they would have plenty of time to sit down together and really start thinking everything out.

“Of course,” Taeyong agreed. He was just glad that Kun was open to the idea at all.

Kun slowly closed the laptop and put it to the side. He rolled himself over so he could glue himself to his fiancé's side and bury his face in his neck. "I'm sorry I got so defensive," he mumbled, "moving that far away is just so hard and I really didn't think I'd ever have to do it again."

“I know, babe,” Taeyong said, running a hand through Kun’s hair, “that’s why I didn’t want to bring it up until I had all of my research together.”

Kun sighed contently. "I didn't mean to see it, but the houses just looked so nice and I couldn't help scrolling," he admitted softly. He felt guilty for looking through Taeyong's laptop, but he was glad that they were able to talk about this.

“It’s okay,” Taeyong said, “I’m glad it’s out in the air now. It’s hard to plan and research that kind of thing alone.”

"I'll help you look into everything this weekend," Kun said tiredly. Despite having several reports to work on for the morning, he was much too comfortable to move. Maybe he could just wake up early to do them instead. 

“Thanks, babe,” Taeyong said. He pressed a kiss to his fiancé’s head, pouting at the fact that he couldn’t kiss him properly.

Kun smiled softly and tilted his head so he could look up at Taeyong. He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw his fiancé pouting down at him. "What's the face for?" he asked teasingly.

Taeyong leaned down and pecked Kun’s lips. “Couldn’t kiss you properly,” he said. They hadn’t really been affectionate since Jisung was born; it was just work and sleep and no time for moments like this.

Kun's smile widened and he leaned up to kiss Taeyong again, letting his lips linger a little bit longer before pulling away. He couldn't think of the last time they had really had even just a few minutes to themselves and he really missed this.

Taeyong let one of his hands rest on Kun’s waist as he kissed his fiancé. He was going to take advantage of this intimate moment as long as he could. As long as Jisung would let him, anyway.

Kun hummed and pushed himself up so he could press close to Taeyong and deepen the kiss. He had no intentions on taking this much further, but he wanted to be as close to his fiancé as possible.

Taeyong wanted to continue, but they were interrupted by a loud cry from the other side of the room. With a sigh, he got up and lifted Jisung out of his bassinet. “What’s wrong, lovebug, hm?” he asked (rhetorically).

Kun took that as a good sign that he needed to get to work. He rolled back to his side of the bed and pulled Taeyong’s laptop back onto his lap. Taking a deep breath, he cracked open the laptop and regretfully began working on his reports.

Taeyong took Jisung out of the room to change his dirty diaper and prepare a bottle. Once he was in a clean diaper, the baby calmed down significantly and peered around over Taeyong’s shoulder while he prepared the formula.

Kun watched Taeyong leave the room with Jisung. He could barely focus on the screen in front of him on account of how tired he was so he put the laptop to the side and went to check on Chenle. The toddler had been much better at sleeping through Jisung crying, but Kun wanted to check on him regardless.

Taeyong moved Jisung to lay cradled in his arm as he fed him, but the baby didn’t seem as interested in his food. Instead, he kept his eyes steady on Taeyong, who smiled at him and tapped his nose gently. “Hi, bug,” he murmured.

Kun was glad to see that Chenle was still soundly asleep. Not wanting to go back to his work just yet, he peeked his head into the kitchen. He smiled fondly as he simply watched his boys. They were both so adorable and Kun couldn’t be happier.

Eventually, Jisung’s eyes closed as he focused on eating and before long he was done. Taeyong lifted the baby on his shoulder to burp him, humming as he did so.

Kun eventually tore his eyes from his boys so he could head back to the bedroom. He was exhausted and the only thing standing between him and sleeping were the two reports he had to finish. With a soft sigh he climbed back into bed and finally got to work.

Once Jisung was burped, Taeyong put the feeding supplies in the sink and carried the boy back to the bedroom. He smiled softly when he caught peering around curiously. “What d’you see, bug?” he asked.

Kun looked up when Taeyong came back with Jisung. He smiled softly and watched Jisung peer around the room, still not quite able to see that much yet.

“He’s already so curious,” Taeyong said, laying down and laying the baby on his chest.

Kun's smile widened and he reached over to lightly rub Jisung's cheek. "Checking the place out, huh?" he asked softly. He watched his baby for another few minutes before regretfully turning back to his laptop.

Taeyong rubbed Jisung’s back with a soft smile on his face. Everything they had gone through had been so worth it for this.

Kun wasn't sure how long it took him to finish his reports, but by the time he was done he could barely keep his eyes open. Jisung was still happily curled up on Taeyong's chest and despite Kun's best efforts to stay up with his boys for another few minutes, he was asleep almost as soon as he settled down.

Fortunately, it didn’t take much longer for Jisung to fall asleep and Taeyong was able to put him back in the bassinet and curl up to his fiancé.

Kun felt Taeyong press against him and was just awake enough to reach his arm around his fiancé and pull him closer. Before he knew it, he was back asleep, any thoughts of having to get up in a few hours far from his mind.


	29. Chapter 29

A week later found Taeyong helping Chenle play with his brother. Jisung couldn’t quite hold on to anything, but he would try to hit anything held in front of him, which Chenle found incredibly entertaining. Jisung was smiling now too, which was absolutely adorable.

Kun was absolutely exhausted by the time he had gotten home. He barely got any sleep the night before on account of Jisung still waking up every few hours to eat and the extra reports he had to finish for this morning. After greeting his boys, he headed straight for the bathroom to take a shower, not even registering the scene in front of him in the living room.

Taeyong frowned as Kun breezed right through to the bathroom. His fiancé must have been exhausted, as he barely acknowledged them. With a sigh, he turned back to their sons.

Kun had to physically drag himself out from under the warm spray of the shower. He slowly got dressed and eventually meandered his way into the living room. "How was your morning?" he asked softly as he lowered himself into the armchair. Usually he would sit with his boys, but he opted to just watch them today instead. He had woken up with a sore throat and didn't want to risk getting any of the boys sick if he had caught something. 

“Good,” Taeyong said. Chenle had calmed down considerably in the past few weeks and had stopped acting out so much. It helped that Jisung was more active too. The baby was laying on his back on a blanket, batting at a toy that Chenle was holding above him.

Kun smiled softly as he watched Jisung swat unsuccessfully at the toy Chenle was holding. The toddler was giggling happily and seemed content to stay there for hours. Despite his intentions, Kun could barely keep his eyes open and eventually gave in. He just needed a twenty minute nap and then he would be good to go to spend the rest of the afternoon with his family.

Taeyong glanced up and saw Kun fast asleep. He hoped the younger man wasn’t getting sick; he would hate to have to quarantine his own fiancé.

The first thing Kun registered when he woke up was his pounding headache. He had absolutely no idea what time it was, but he couldn't worry about that right now. With a quiet groan he pushed himself up so that he could go get some water; hopefully he was simply dehydrated.

Taeyong was surprised that Kun had slept through most of the afternoon. He must have really not been feeling good. Both boys were napping, Jisung in his bassinet and Chenle in Kun and Taeyong’s bed. Taeyong was in the kitchen, working on dinner.

Kun was confused the Taeyong was already starting dinner, but once glance at the clock made him realize it was much later than he realized. "I'm sorry I slept for so long," he said sheepishly as he filled a glass of water, "were the boys good?"

“They were perfect,” Taeyong said with a smile, “they’re both asleep now.”

Kun sighed in relief. "Oh good," he said quietly, "what can I help with?" Usually he was the one who cooked dinner so he always got a little bit lost whenever Taeyong beat him to the kitchen.

“Nothing,” Taeyong said, “just to sit and relax. You obviously need the rest.”

Kun wanted to argue but he knew his fiancé was right and that he wouldn't budge. Instead he set his glass of water down at the table and went to fetch his laptop from his work bag. He set himself up at the kitchen table to keep Taeyong company and chip away at the work he was still behind on.

Once the soup was ready, Taeyong let it simmer on the stove. He stood behind fiancé and carefully laid a hand across his forehead. “You feel a little warm, Kunnie.”

Kun groaned and sat back in the chair; this was the last thing he needed. "I'll take something tonight and sleep it off," he said quietly. He really couldn't afford to get sick and he had no idea where this came from.

“You gotta stop overworking yourself,” Taeyong said, “delegate some of this stuff to those subordinates you now have.”

"I can't. These are my cases. Besides the couple that I have partners on I don't particularly trust to write the reports for," Kun said sadly, "I'll be alright, babe, I promise. Once I get caught up, everything will be fine." At least that was what he hoped for. 

“How about you take a break and go get Lele up for dinner?” Taeyong suggested.

Kun nodded and pushed himself up from the table. He walked into the toddler's room, but his son was nowhere to be found. As he walked towards his and Taeyong's bedroom, he heard whimpering that he knew couldn't have been Jisung. He rushed into the room and over to the bed where a teary eyed Chenle was sitting up in the middle of the bed. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked as he approached the toddler.

Taeyong returned to the stove. He ladled soup out into three bowls, adding a few ice cubes to Chenle’s to cool it down faster.

Chenle took one look at Kun and burst into tears. Kun quickly went to pick up the toddler, but Chenle scrambled away from him. He froze; the toddler had never avoided him before and it worried him. "Come here, Lele, it's okay," he said gently, but the toddler didn't budge. He wanted to get the crying boy out of the room before Jisung woke up, but unfortunately he was already too late.

Taeyong froze when he heard Chenle start crying. When Jisung started too, he wiped his hands and went to the bedroom to help out. The sight he walked into was something he never expected to see. “Take care of Jisung,” he told Kun as he made his way toward Chenle. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Kun was relieved when Taeyong came into the bedroom. He scooped Jisung into his arms and carried the baby into the living room to calm him down. Chenle just began to cry harder, but he didn't crawl any further away.

Taeyong sat down on the bed near Chenle and held his arms out, knowing the boy would come to him once the initial shock of whatever scared him wore off. “Lele, baby, it’s okay,” he said softly.

Chenle sniffed loudly and sat watching Taeyong warily for a minute. Eventually he started crawling towards his father, but he paused about halfway there.

Taeyong waited patiently. He didn’t want to scare his son after he had just had a huge shock. He wondered what had hurt his baby so much.

When Taeyong didn't do anything, Chenle crawled the rest of the way towards him. He settled next to him, rather than in his lap, but gripped onto his shirt tightly.

Taeyong lowered his arms and carefully wrapped one around his son’s back. “What happened, baby?”

"Kun baba...Kun baba," but he didn't get much more out before he burst into tears again. "I don't wanna go back," he wailed in between sobs.

“Oh, baby,” Taeyong said sadly. He lifted the boy onto his lap and hugged him tightly. “You’re not going anywhere, I promise.”

Chenle clung onto Taeyong and sobbed loudly. He had dreams like this all the time, but this one had been so real. 

Taeyong rubbed Chenle back, lifting the boy up to lay on his shoulder. He hated seeing his baby so upset.

Chenle wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s neck tightly. He wiped his nose on his father’s shoulder and buried his face in his neck. He was still scared; what if Kun really did want to send him back?

“I promise, Kun baba and I want you here  _ so _ much, Lele,” Taeyong said, continuing to rub his son’s back. He wasn’t sure what had brought this nightmare on.

Chenle sniffed loudly and snuggled closer. On the couch, Kun had finally gotten Jisung to calm down so he brought the baby with him to the bedroom to check on Chenle. “How’s he doing?” he asked gently. Chenle froze when he heard Kun and burst into tears yet again. Kun’s eyes widened and he took a few steps backwards so he was standing in the doorway.

“Lele, it’s just Kun baba,” Taeyong said hurriedly, “he’s not going to hurt you.”

"Don't wanna go back! Don't wanna go back!" Chenle cried loudly. Jisung whimpered in Kun's arms and he turned his attention to the baby. "It's okay, Jisungie, it's okay," he said soothingly, "Lele, you don't have to go anywhere. You're going to stay right here with us." Unfortunately that wasn't enough to satisfy the toddler, and he continued to sob into Taeyong's shoulder.

“Lele, what can baba do to make you feel better?” Taeyong asked. He felt bad that Chenle was rejecting Kun so suddenly.

"Wanna stay," Chenle whined miserably. Kun watched hopelessly from the doorway. Chenle had never reacted like this to him before and he was at an absolute loss.

“We’re not making you leave, Lele,” Taeyong said, “we just want to make you not so scared, but we don’t know how. Can you help us?”

Chenle untucked his head from Taeyong's shoulder so he could look at Kun with big eyes. "Baba," he began quietly. "I'm right here, baby. What happened?" Kun asked gently, taking a cautious step into the room. Chenle whined quietly, causing Kun to stop again. "Bad dream," the toddler finally mumbled, fingers curling into Taeyong's shirt. 

“You know, if you tell Kun baba all about what happened, he has to make absolutely sure that it never comes true,” Taeyong said. Chenle looked at him with questioning eyes and he nodded. “It’s the rules,” he added.

"You can tell me, Lele. What happened?" he asked gently. He braved taking another small step into the room. The toddler watched Kun nervously, but didn't react further. "S-sent me back," he whimpered, clinging onto Taeyong tighter. "I sent you back?" Kun asked. Chenle simply nodded. "Why, baby?" Kun asked, voice thick. "I wasn't good," the toddler replied miserably, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. Kun felt his heart shatter.

'Baby, you're so good for us," Taeyong said soothingly, "and even if sometimes you're not good, we are never,  _ ever _ going to let you go, okay?"

Chenle buried his head in Taeyong's neck again, sobbing softly. "Oh, Chenle. I...we would never send you back. No matter what happens, you're ours forever. We love you, Lele, and I promise that what happened in your dream will never come true," Kun said sincerely. He wanted to move closer to the bed, but he was still scared of upsetting the toddler more so he stayed put and held Jisung close instead.

Taeyong was wracking his brain for the right thing to say. How was he supposed to explain to a toddler that his family was permanent?

Jisung whimpered quietly in Kun's arm when Chenle started crying again. "Lele, Jisungie is worried about you, can I bring him over?" Kun asked carefully. Chenle picked his head up again and nodded slowly. He eyes flicked back and forth between his father and his brother as Kun slowly approached the bed and sat down.

“Lele, do you think we would ever send Jisungie away?” Taeyong asked finally. He hoped this tactic worked.

Chenle shook his head immediately and stared at his bother with wide eyes. "Jisungie can't go," he whimpered nervously. 

“Why not?” Taeyong asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. He didn’t want Chenle to think that they were considering sending either of them away.

Chenle frowned. "Because...because he's good. And...and you love him," the toddler replied after a minute. They couldn't send Jisungie away, they just couldn't.

“Are you good?” Taeyong asked next, “Do Kun baba and I love you?”

Chenle nodded in answer to both of Taeyong's questions. He finally tore his eyes away from Jisung to look up at Kun and relaxed slightly when he saw his father's soft expression. 

“Then we can’t send you away either,” Taeyong said, “because we love you so, so much and we’d be so sad if you weren’t here with us anymore.”

Despite feeling more reassured, Chenle still kept his tight grip on Taeyong's shirt. "Baba, I'll be good. Promise," he whispered.

“You’re already good, Lele,” Taeyong reassured him, kissing his forehead. “Do you want Kun baba to give you a hug now?”

Chenle paused for a moment before nodding slowly. He kept one hand on Taeyong's shirt as he carefully climbed off his lap. Kun handed Jisung to Taeyong before opening his arms for Chenle. The toddler crawled onto his lap slowly, and Kun pulled him close. "I love you so much, baby, and I'm so sorry your dream scared you so much," he murmured. Chenle threw his arms around Kun's neck and snuggled closer.

Taeyong laid Jisung over his shoulder and rubbed his back gently, hoping to pull the baby back to sleep now that Chenle had calmed down.

"Baba," Chenle whimpered, eyes tearing up again. "Don't cry anymore, Lele," Kun said soothingly, "everything's okay." He hoped Chenle never had a nightmare like this again; he hated seeing his baby so scared of him. He snuck a quick glance at Taeyong and sighed softly.

“Why don’t you two go get cleaned up?” Taeyong suggested. They would likely have to reheat dinner a little bit but that was okay.

"Come on, Lele," Kun said, slowly standing up. He hadn't noticed his headache had come back until now and he was less than thrilled. Ignoring it for now, he focused on getting Chenle cleaned up and into the kitchen. He sat down at the table and let Chenle sit on his lap; the last thing on his mind was having the toddler sit in his own chair for dinner.

It was surprisingly easy to get Jisung to finally fall back asleep. Taeyong carefully laid him in the bassinet and made sure the baby monitor was on before heading out to the kitchen.

Chenle had dropped his head onto Kun's shoulder and settled himself comfortably in his father's lap. Despite his nap, Kun could tell the toddler was exhausted and he hoped his baby would get a good night's rest tonight.

Taeyong was torn. On one hand, he didn’t want to make Chenle sleep alone if he was still scared, but on the other hand, Kun was definitely getting sick and he didn’t want either of the boys to catch whatever he had. With a sigh, he sat down and stirred his soup absently.

Kun helped Chenle eat as best he could, but eventually gave up and just had the toddler feed himself. "Do you want to stay with Taeyong baba tonight?" he asked after a minute. He didn't want the toddler to get sick, and he liked the idea of him sleeping alone even less. Chenle nodded eagerly, a little bit of soup dribbling down his chin in the process. Kun grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped down the toddler's face.

Taeyong really wasn’t feeling particularly hungry anymore. “I’m gonna go make up the couch for you,” he said, standing up, “can you take care of the leftovers?”

"Of course," Kun agreed easily. Once Chenle and he were satisfied, he hoisted the toddler onto his hip and tackled putting away the leftovers with one hand. When that was done, he brought Chenle to the bathroom to give him a quick bath and then went to lay him in his and Taeyong's bed.

Taeyong grabbed linens out of the closet and made up the couch for Kun. Knowing his fiancé, he would stay up working and Taeyong wasn’t having that. Kun was sick. As a precaution, he put Kun’s laptop in the hall closet, which they kept locked to deter toddler curiosity. The key he left in a drawer in the kitchen. Out of sight, out of mind. The next day was a weekend and Kun could start working again when he was no longer sick.

When Chenle was settled into the middle of their bed with his favorite stuffed animal, Kun made his way back down the hall. He went into the kitchen to grab his laptop and frowned when it wasn't there. Maybe Taeyong had moved it to the living room for him. For some reason, Kun's laptop was nowhere to be found and he had no idea where it could have gone. "Hey, babe, did you see my laptop?" he asked. He knew Taeyong must have moved it, but where he moved it to was the real question.

“I put it away for the night,” Taeyong said breezily. “You have all day tomorrow to do reports. Right now, you need to sleep.”

"Tae, I appreciate the concern, but I'm  _ behind _ . I can't afford to not get some work done tonight," Kun said, slightly annoyed. He knew Taeyong wouldn't give up the location of the laptop, and that meant he wouldn't be able to get it until well into tomorrow morning.

“You are  _ sick _ ,” Taeyong said, crossing his arms, “you know that I normally wouldn’t say anything about you pushing yourself but if Jisung gets sick, it could be a lot worse for him. I promise I’ll give it back when you get up in the morning, but I need to make sure you sleep tonight, okay? You have to actually take care of your health just this once.”

Kun sighed and dropped his head. He didn't have an argument. Making sure Jisung didn't get sick was much more important than him getting some work done tonight. "Alright, I’ll get some sleep," he relented.

“We’re gonna go through together and figure out how to make your work load more manageable,” Taeyong added, “if you keep overworking yourself, you’re gonna keep getting sick and I don’t want this to become a cycle.”

Kun nodded slowly; he didn't particularly want to keep getting sick either. "Thanks, babe. I don't know what I'd do without you," he murmured.

“I’ll get you to delegate if it kills me,” Taeyong joked. He stepped closer to hug his fiancé briefly. “Get some sleep,” he said softly.

Kun leaned into Taeyong's embrace even if it was only for a moment. "Goodnight, babe. I love you," he said sincerely, before settling himself comfortably on the couch.

“I love you too,” Taeyong said, sparing his fiancé a last, long glance. He returned to the bedroom and laid down with Chenle, who immediately snuggled up to him.

When Kun woke up he had absolutely no idea what time it was but his throat was killing him. With a groan he forced himself into the kitchen to grab some water. He raised the glass to his lips with shaky hands and, before he realized what was happening, the glass slipped from his hands and he tumbled to the side. The next thing he knew was that he was sitting on the ground with no idea how of how he got there. He blinked desperately, but the room continued to spin. Kun tried to call out for Taeyong, but his throat was much too raw to produce any sound.

Taeyong had been woken up in the early hours of the morning by a hungry Jisung. Just as he was getting the baby back to sleep, he heard a loud thump from the direction of the kitchen. Flicking the baby monitor on, he went to investigate. His heart stopped when he saw Kun on the ground in the kitchen, barely conscious or alert. 

Kun barely registered his fiancé sitting in front of him. His head was pounding and he could barely see anything. Desperately he tried to reach out, but his arm was much too heavy; it felt like he was trying to move through molasses. "Tae..." he rasped out just before everything went black.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! My computer was having convulsions last night. - A

“Kun? Kun-ah!” Taeyong shook Kun’s shoulder but it was no use. He raced back to the bedroom to grab his phone and called an ambulance first. Once he had confirmed that an ambulance was on its way, he called Johnny, explaining the situation and begging the older man to come over as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, the ambulance arrived well before Johnny did, so Taeyong couldn’t ride with them to the hospital. Once Johnny was there, however, he tore off to the car, driving as fast as he possibly could to get to his fiancé.

Kun was incredibly confused the next time he woke up. His vision was still fuzzy and his head was pounding. Where was he? What was going on? Where was Taeyong? Groaning quietly, he let his eyes close again, and hoped everything would be fixed the next time he opened them.

Taeyong reached the hospital in record time, a little surprised that he even made it there intact. However, it was there that he encountered a problem. The hospital staff wouldn’t let him see his fiancé.

The next thing Kun realized, he was surrounded by nurses. It felt like he was underwater and everything they were saying was muffled and blended together. He had no idea what was going and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get his to tongue to work properly. All he wanted was his fiancé and his mind was running as fast as it could trying to figure out where he could be. Kun was absolutely terrified.

Taeyong watched nervously as nurses darted in and out of Kun’s room. He couldn’t go in until his fiancé asked for him and it made him want to cry.

Slowly but surely, everything was getting clearer. As soon as he could force his mouth to work he called out desperately for Taeyong. His voice was gruff and barely above a whisper. The nurse just gave him a sympathetic look and Kun nearly broke down on the spot. All he wanted was his fiancé.

Taeyong hovered near the door, eyes never leaving his fiancé. He hated this. Maybe after all of this, Kun would finally realize why they needed to move to the States.

“Where...where’s Taeyong?” Kun finally choked out, “I want my fiancé.” Despite how weak his voice was, he could still hear the desperation in it as clear as day, but he was too distraught to care. He just wanted Taeyong to tell him that everything was going to be okay.

Taeyong rushed inside when the nurse nodded to him. “I’m here, baby, it’s okay,” he said, taking Kun’s hand.

Kun nearly cried out in relief when Taeyong was suddenly next to him. “Oh my God, Tae. What’s going on? How did I get here? I just...I just want to go home. And the boys! Are the boys okay?” he rambled. He was barely coherent, but he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. Everything was slowly coming back and he felt like the world was crumbling down around him.

“Slow down, baby,” Taeyong said, “the boys are fine, they’re with Johnny. I had to call an ambulance because you passed out. Do you remember that?”

Kun heaved a sigh a relief, but that feeling didn’t last long before confusion settled in. “No,” he said slowly, “I just remember going into the kitchen and the next thing I knew I was here.” That certainly made a lot of sense, but he was more concerned that he didn’t remember.

“Do you remember falling in the kitchen?” Taeyong asked. Kun had been conscious when he found him, but he wasn’t sure if he had been alert.

Kun’s eyebrows knitted together as he tried to think of what happened, but he was coming up empty. “No,” he mumbled quietly. He dropped his eyes to his lap, hoping Taeyong didn’t notice how scared he was.

“Hey, that’s okay,” Taeyong said, pulling up a chair as the nurses finally left, “you’re gonna be okay, babe.”

Kun squeezed Taeyong’s hand weakly. “I just want to know what happened and I want to go home. I want to be with our boys. Oh my God, Chenle! He’s going to be a mess when he realizes we’re gone,” he said worriedly. He let his head fall back against the pillow behind him and let out a shaky breath.

“Kunnie, it’s like three in the morning,” Taeyong said, “I’m gonna go home as soon as I know you’ll be okay so I can be there when he wakes up. He’ll be okay.”

Kun stared at Taeyong for a moment. Three in the morning? No it couldn’t be could it? He turned to look at the clock on the wall and watched it for a few minutes to make sure his eyes still weren’t playing tricks on him before looking back at Taeyong. “I...I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, “I’ll be okay. You need your sleep.”

“When the doctor comes in and tells me you’re okay, I’ll go home, okay?” Taeyong said gently. Kun apologizing for being sick was the last thing he needed.

Kun nodded slowly. His eyes dropped back to his hands and gently played with Taeyong’s fingers. He felt so embarrassed; this shouldn’t be happening right now. He should be at home, happily asleep with his fiancé in his arms, not waiting for a doctor to come in and tell him everything he already knew.

Taeyong held Kun's hand tightly as they waited for the doctor. When the woman finally came in, he stood and bowed, introducing himself as Kun's fiancé and hoping she wouldn't kick him out.

Kun froze when he saw the doctor's face twist into a frown, but luckily she didn't say anything further to Taeyong. Instead she turned he attention to Kun, asking him a multitude of questions including what other symptoms he had experienced, how long he had been sick for, and if he remembered anything from before he arrived at the hospital. Kun answered all of the questions as best he could and it felt like forever until she finally diagnosed him with exhaustion, which came as no surprise. "We're going to keep you the rest of the night to ensure that there isn't anything additional we should be concerned about and hopefully we can discharge you in the morning," she said as she made some notes in the chart.

"What time do you think you'll be able to discharge him?" Taeyong asked. He fully intended to come back once Chenle was awake and comfortable with Johnny.

"I can't say for certain, but if all goes well it will be around late morning at the earliest," the doctor replied, not looking up from what she was writing. Kun sighed softly; he didn't like the idea of having to stay the rest of the night, but he really didn't have a choice.

Taeyong turned his attention to Kun. "I'm gonna go home to Lele, but I'll be back around 9:30, okay?" He hated having to leave his fiancé alone in the hospital, but Kun was right that Chenle would freak out if he woke up and neither of his parents was there.

"Don't rush back. Get some sleep and make sure the boys are okay. I'll be fine," Kun said softly. He mustered a small smile and squeezed Taeyong's hand for reassurance. 

"I don't want to leave you alone for too long," Taeyong said stubbornly, "make sure you sleep, okay?"

"I will. I promise," Kun said immediately, "and thank Johnny for keeping an eye on the boys for me." If he still wasn't so scared, he would have insisted Taeyong stay home longer and focus on the boys.

Taeyong leaned over and kissed Kun's forehead. "I love you," he said sincerely, "I'll be back in a few hours."

"I love you too. Be careful getting home," Kun said softly. He regretfully let go of Taeyong's hand and kept his eyes glued to his fiancé as long as possible. Eventually he let his eyes slowly close, hoping he could get at least a few more hours of sleep; he certainly could use them.

Taeyong made it back home around four. Johnny was in bed with Chenle and they were both fast asleep. He didn't want to wake either of them up, so he laid down on Chenle's other side and let himself fall back asleep as well.

Every little noise caused Kun's eyes to fly open. He would glance at the clock each time, hoping a few hours had past, but it was never more than a measly fifteen minutes. He was reaching the end of his rope. All he wanted was to be in bed at home, but instead he was resigned to watching the hands on the clock slowly tick the minutes away. 

Even Taeyong being home wasn't enough to stop Chenle from crying when he realized that Kun was gone. Taeyong held the boy on his lap, rocking him back and forth while Johnny took care of Jisung. "Baba's gonna be home in a little bit," Taeyong said, rubbing his son's back, "if you play with Uncle Johnny for a while, I can go get him."

Kun finally gave up trying to fall asleep around eight. His headache had come back and was once again pounding behind his temples. He was worried the hospital would take his lack of sleep as a sign that he wasn't improving and keep him longer, but there was nothing he could do.

Taeyong finally got Chenle calmed down with the promise that he would have himself and Kun home by lunchtime. Of course, it meant planning with Johnny to make sure he didn't start making lunch until they were on their way home, but there was no way Chenle would know that. With a tired sigh, Taeyong knocked gently on Kun's door, about half an hour after he promised to be back.

Kun jumped when there was a knock on his door. A few nurses had filtered through, but he was no closer to finding out when he could go home than he was when he first talked to the doctor.

Taeyong stuck his head into the room, smiling slightly when he saw his fiancé sitting up. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he sat down.

Kun perked up when he saw Taeyong. "Tired," he admitted, "but I want to go home. There's nothing they can do here anyway." He wanted nothing more than to be laying in bed surrounded by his boys.

"Hopefully, they'll let you come home soon," Taeyong said, taking his fiancé's hand in his own, "I promised Chenle you'd be home by lunch, so I really hope we're not having lunch at five pm."

Kun easily intertwined his fingers with Taeyong's. "I hope not either," he said quietly. The way things were looking the toddler was going to be sorely disappointed. Two more nurses filtered through, but both times Kun asked about being discharged he was completely brushed off.

“Can we get the doctor back in here?” Taeyong asked the second time they were brushed off, “I’d like someone who can give us an actual answer please.”

The nurse scoffed. "The doctor is busy speaking with other patients and she'll be in when she has the time," she replied before turning on her heels and walking back into the hallway. "It's okay, babe," Kun said softly when the nurse left, "do you think we can just call Johnny? I want to make sure Lele is okay."

“No, Kun, it’s not,” Taeyong said heatedly, “they’re literally treating you like you’re some sort of lower class and like your health doesn’t matter as much as their other patients, and I don’t know if it’s because of your sexuality or your ethnicity but I’m fucking tired of it. Go ahead and call Lele; I’m gonna go find someone who actually knows something.

"Taeyong, please don't do this," Kun begged, "the nurse said the doctor is busy; we just have to be patient. Everything's okay and I don't want to cause more problems than it's worth." He chewed nervously on his lip. There was really no arguing with his fiancé when he was upset, but all he wanted was to go home and he knew causing a scene would only push that off further.

"She literally just said that the doctor doesn't have time for you," Taeyong said bluntly, "that's medical neglect if I've ever seen it. You may not be dying but you're still a patient and it's her job to take care of you. I'll grab you something to eat on my way back."

Kun sighed sadly. "Please don't do anything rash. You could make this a lot worse for the both of us," he said gently, "if you really insist on talking to someone at least leave me your phone so I can call Lele."

Taeyong sighed and held his phone out to Kun. In the end, he probably wouldn't yell at anyone, but he was just so infuriated.

Kun took the phone and immediately called Johnny. He was more worried about his sons than he was about himself and he just wanted to make sure they were okay. He watched Taeyong closely, hoping he would decide to stay rather than try to talk to someone else who wouldn't give him any answers.

Taeyong sighed and left the room. Even if he wasn't going to yell at anyone, he did still want to get Kun something to eat. Yet another job that someone in this hospital wasn't doing.

Kun was nervous when Taeyong left the room, but he was quickly distracted by Johnny answering the phone. He quickly explained that everything was okay and asked to speak to Chenle. He actually had to pull the phone away from his ear when the toddler began speaking loudly. "Lele, you don't have to shout. I can hear you just fine," he said gently, a small smile pulling at his lips.

Taeyong trudged down to the cafeteria. He wasn't sure what Kun would be able to stomach eating, so he grabbed him a water bottle and a couple things of Jell-O. Hopefully, it would tide him over until they were able to go home.

"Baba, miss you," Chenle whined. "I miss you too, baby. I'll be home soon, I promise. Until then will you be a good big brother and help Uncle J take care of Jisungie?" "Of course!" the toddler answered eagerly. Kun chuckled; this was his son's new favorite phrase and he used it whenever possible. It was so mature and it made Kun realize just how much Chenle had grown up since they had gotten him. 

Taeyong smiled softly as he overheard Kun's conversation with Chenle. Well, half of it anyway. "I got you something to eat," he said as he retook his seat.

Kun smiled gratefully and mouth a "thank you." "Lele, do you want to talk to Taeyong baba?" he asked. He was immediately met with an excited “yes” so he handed the phone over to his fiancé and grabbed the cup of orange jello.

Taeyong also showed Kun the water bottle as he took the phone. “Hi, baby,” he said, “Are you being good for Uncle J?”

"Yes, baba! Promise!" Chenle said immediately. Kun could hear the toddler clear as day and wondered if he would have any voice left by the time they got home. He cracked open the water bottle and took a few sips; sighing in relief as the cool liquid soothed his raw throat.

Taeyong winced. "Not so loud, baby," he admonished, "are you helping with Jisungie?"

"Sorry, baba," Chenle said much quieter, "Jisungie is sleeping, but we cuddled!" Kun couldn't hear the toddler anymore so he distracted himself by slowly peeling open the Jell-O and taking a small bite. Even though he had been away from the toddler for longer, he was missing him immensely. Thankfully, he didn't have a chance to be upset for long because the doctor finally entered the room.

"That's great, baby," Taeyong praised, "what are you and Johnny doing now?"

"We're playing pilots!" Chenle answered excitedly. Kun put down his snack and sat up a little straighter, turning his attention fully towards the doctor. "Everything came back fine," the doctor said as her eyes skimmed over the chart, "there's nothing more we can do for you here so I recommend you stay on bed rest with minimal exertion for at least four days, but a week if possible. The nurses will bring the discharge paperwork and you will be all set to go home after everything is signed."

"Hold on a sec, Lele," Taeyong said, turning to the doctor, "can we get an official note for his boss?" He absolutely knew Kun's boss would be a dick about giving him time off and he wanted his fiancé to have proof for HR if the man tried to make him come back early.

"Sure, I'll sign a letter and have the nurse bring it when she brings the rest of the paperwork," the doctor said simply. After ensuring that there were no further questions, she bade the pair a goodbye and disappeared from the room. Kun sat back and sighed quietly; he was finally going home.

“I’m gonna go get the car, okay?” Taeyong said, knowing things would move fairly quickly from here. He didn’t want Kun to have to sit in the lobby or outside waiting for him.

"I'll be down as soon as I can be," Kun said with a nod. Luckily, the nurse came quickly and after Kun signed everything, he was wheeled downstairs, letter in hand. He was a little shaky on his feet, but he managed to slowly climb into the front seat of the car. "Let's go home."

Taeyong put the car in drive and they made their way home as fast as they legally could. He knew Kun wanted to see Chenle and also that Johnny needed to get home. “Text Johnny and let him know we’re on our way so he can start lunch,” he said to Kun.

Kun quickly typed out the message and pressed send. He was excited to be going home even though he hadn't been gone for very long. When they were finally walking into their building, he had to grab onto his fiancé to steady himself. They made it upstairs and he had barely taken two steps into the living room before Chenle came bounding over. “Easy, baby,” Kun said gently as the toddler wrapped himself around his legs.

“Lele, let’s let Kun baba sit first, okay?” Taeyong said, he scooped his son up, keeping one hand on Kun’s waist to steady him.

Kun slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. He hated how shaky he felt, but hopefully some lunch would fix that. “Come here, Lele,” he said, reaching out to take the toddler into his arms.

Chenle wiggled out of Taeyong’s arms and clambered into Kun’s lap. With a small smile on his face, Taeyong went to find Johnny, who was in the kitchen. “How were they?” he asked.

Kun wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him close. “Baba, missed you,” the toddler say quietly. “I missed you too, baby,” Kun whispered. The only good thing about being home for the week was having that much more time to spend with his boys.

“They were good,” Johnny said, “Chenle stopped moping once Jisung woke up, which helped a lot. He’s been asleep for about two hours now, so I bet he’ll be back up soon.” Taeyong hugged his best friend tightly. “Go home and sleep,” he said, “and let me know how I can pay you back.”

Kun kicked his feet up so he could lay down. He pulled Chenle down with him and smiled when the toddler curled into his chest. Humming softly, he gently combed his fingers through his son’s hair. Even though lunch would be ready soon, he wanted to take advantage of for as long as possible. 

Once Johnny left, Taeyong finished up cooking lunch and called for his boys. “Lele, go wash your hands,” he ordered as he stepped into the living room to help Kun to the kitchen.

Kun helped Chenle down from the couch and watched the toddler tear off down the hallway. He pushed himself to sit up and took a deep breath before slowly standing.

Taeyong stepped up and steadied Kun with his hand on the younger man’s back. “I’m gonna move the bassinet into Lele’s room for the next couple of nights,” he said, not wanting Kun to get Jisung sick but also not wanting his fiancé to get stuck on the couch.

Kun would have refused the help, but he knew Taeyong wouldn't listen. "No, don't do that. He's going to keep Chenle up and we both know how well that goes," he said quickly. 

“You’re not gonna sleep well on the couch and we can’t have Jisung getting sick. If anything, we can always send Chenle to Jeno’s for a few nights so he can sleep,” Taeyong said. He knew Taeil would be more than willing to take Chenle for a few days as Kun got better.

Kun sighed softly. "We'll figure it out," he said simply. Taeyong was right, but he still wasn't fond of the idea. As he slowly lowered himself into his chair, Chenle came skittering into the kitchen. He hopped into his own chair and desperately tried to slide it closer to Kun. "You know you're still holding my laptop hostage and I would like it back," Kun reminded gently as he pulled Chenle closer.

“You’ll get it back after you eat something,” Taeyong said, “but I’m restricting how long you can use it. Overworking yourself is just gonna make you more sick, Kunnie.”

"Fine," Kun agreed, "I promise I'll be careful from now on." He knew better than to argue, especially because he still wasn't feeling well.

Taeyong sighed and set a plate of food in front of his fiancé. “Eat up,” he said as he put a plate in front of Chenle as well.

To his own surprise, Kun wasn't particularly hungry. He ate as much as he could, which turned out to be less than half of what was on the plate, before turning his attention to Chenle. 

Once he was sure the toddler was finished, he slowly pushed himself up from his chair. "I'm gonna go lay down for a few minutes," he said apologetically. He hated leaving Taeyong to clean up and keep an eye on both boys, but he was barely feeling good enough to stand let alone be of any help.

"Just go straight to bed, babe," Taeyong said, "you need your rest more than you need to work right now." 

Kun nodded slowly and shuffled out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. He collapsed into bed and wrapped himself around a pillow. His head was spinning and he immediately squeezed his eyes shut. On top of everything else, he felt his stomach turn and he hoped he could sleep everything off, but he had a funny feeling it wouldn't quite work out that way.

Taeyong helped Chenle clean up before settling the boy in front of a movie and going to check on his fiancé. "You okay?" he asked, sitting down next to Kun on the bed.

Kun couldn't bring himself to form any words so he tried to nod. He quickly realized that was a bad idea when everything began to spin faster. He hated this. What had happened all of the sudden that made him so sick?

Taeyong laid a hand against his fiancé's cheek sadly. "I'm gonna call Taeil hyung about taking Lele, okay? Let me know if need anything."

Kun merely whimpered miserably in response. He knew if he tried to speak he would throw up and that wouldn't be good for either of them. He took slow, calculated breaths, desperately trying to calm himself down until he was able to finally fall asleep.


	31. Chapter 31

Taeyong was glad to see that Kun was feeling better after a week of being essentially banned from work. He would let his fiancé do a few hours of paperwork a day, but most of the work got delegated so Kun could recover.

Kun was grateful, albeit a bit annoyed at first, for how strict Taeyong was about him working. There were a few nights were his fiancé all but snatched his laptop from him so he couldn't work anymore. By the time a week had passed, he was feeling much better. It was his last day home before he had to go back to work and he planned on spending as much of it as possible in bed, which was exactly where he was now.

Taeyong was pacing the bedroom, patting Jisung’s back. He had just fed the baby and was trying to get him to burp. They had moved him back into the master bedroom that morning, finally deciding that Kun wasn’t contagious anymore.

More than anything, Kun disliked the idea of Jisung sleeping in Chenle's room throughout the week. Thankfully the baby did fine, which hopefully meant a transition to his own room when he got a little bit bigger would be just as smooth. A few minutes later, Kun heard the sound of small footsteps padding down the hallway and into their room. Smiling softly, he rolled himself over just in time to see a mop of brown hair pop up next to his side of the bed.

Jisung finally burped and Taeyong handed him off to Kun so he could clean up the various items he had to use for a feeding. He ruffled Chenle’s hair as he walked past toward the kitchen.

"Morning, Lele," Kun said softly. As carefully as he could with one arm, he helped the toddler climb into the bed and sit next to him. "Hi, baba. Hi, Jisungie," the toddler greeted chipperly. He looked up at Kun with big eyes, not bothering to voice his question. Kun chuckled fondly and lifted Jisung up so that Chenle could crawl into his lap and lowered the baby back down once the toddler was settled. "Be gentle, Lele; he just ate," he reminded.

Taeyong washed the bottle thoroughly and left it to dry on the counter. He smiled at the sight he walked into. “Lele, did you have a good time with Jeno this week?”

Chenle nodded immediately. "We played with the puppy," he said excitedly, "baba, can Jeno come play here?" His eyes never left Jisung, almost like he was scared he was going to miss something if he looked away.

“Maybe in a few days when Kun baba’s feeling better,” Taeyong said, sitting down next to them on the bed.

Chenle pouted, but was quickly distracted by Jisung grabbing onto his finger. Kun smiled as he watched the boys play for a few moments. "Thanks for taking such good care of me this week," he said, turning his attention towards Taeyong.

“Of course,” Taeyong said, “I’ll always take care of you. All of you.”

Kun's smile widened and he reached out his free hand to take Taeyong's. He stifled a yawn and settled more comfortably against the headboard. Even though he could easily fall back asleep for a little while, he wasn't keen on wasting the whole day. "So how do you want to spend my last day of freedom?" he asked.

“I don’t know, being able to lay with you seems like a good idea,” Taeyong said with a small smile. He had refused to lay close to Kun all week and it hurt.

Kun smiled softly. It was hard for him to cuddle with Taeyong with both boys on his lap, but that wasn’t a problem for long. Once Jisung was asleep in the bassinet and Chenle was happily playing in his room, Kun climbed back into bed. “I’m glad my ban has finally been lifted,” he teased as scooted across the bed to lay as close to his fiancé as possible.

Taeyong settled into Kun’s side and leaned up to steal a kiss. “I’m glad too,” he said, “seeing you that sick was scary.”

Kun sighed sadly and wrapped his arm around Taeyong. “I’m sorry, babe, I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’m better now and that’s what matters,” he said softly He was more grateful that none of his boys got sick; that could have been devastating.

“Please don’t go back to overworking yourself,” Taeyong mumbled, hiding his face, “it’s killing you.”

“I won’t; I promise. I’ll take better care of myself from now on,” Kun assured immediately. He tightened his arm around Taeyong for reassurance. It was certainly easier said than done, but he didn’t want a scare like this again, for his or the boys’ sakes.

Taeyong sighed unsurely. He wanted to trust Kun on this, but he knew his fiancé’s habits all too well. As long as Kun tried, at least, he would take it.

“Hey, don’t be so glum. Besides I do hope you realize you owe me the kisses you’ve been withholding from me this past week,” he said trying to lighten the mood. He didn’t want to brush off Taeyong’s concern for him, but he didn’t want his fiancé to spend the rest of the day upset because he was worried.

“Oh, do I now?” Taeyong teased. He sat up, leaning back slightly. “Are you gonna come and take them if I don’t give them?”

Kun pouted at Taeyong. “Maybe,” he said pulling his fiancé back against him, “but I really would hate to have to do that.”

Taeyong hummed. He leaned forward and barely brushed his lips against his fiancé’s cheek before pulling away with a self-satisfied smirk.

“When did you turn into such a tease?” Kun asked. He rolled them both over so that he was hovering over his fiancé. He had absolutely zero plans on taking this very far, but this made it a lot harder for Taeyong to keep evading him.

“I’ve always been a tease,” Taeyong said. At least, he had tried to be somewhat of a tease. He had found that Kun liked a bit of a chase.

Kun tilted his head and smirked down at Taeyong. “You know, the longer you delay, the more likely one of the boys are going to need us and I’d hate to have to wait even longer for my well deserved kisses,” he said as seriously he could manage.

“Well, I guess you better start taking then, hm?” Taeyong said. He wouldn’t be upset if either of the boys needed something, obviously, but he couldn’t help but miss their alone time.

Kun smiled triumphantly and leaned down to kiss Taeyong. Any other day would have found him teasing his fiancé back, but he missed him too much for that.

Taeyong smiled into the kiss. He was happy to be close to his fiancé again.

Kun kissed Taeyong sweetly. He didn't want to rush. Instead, he simply wanted to enjoy the few minutes of alone time that they had.

The next few weeks were fairly calm. Kun went back to work and Taeyong’s finally found time to work on his next book. Chenle had mostly stopped misbehaving since Jisung had started being able to play a little bit. At the moment, the boys were on a blanket on the floor, Chenle making funny faces at Jisung while Taeyong worked on the couch.

Kun was tired when he got home from work, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Foregoing cooking for the time being, he settled himself on the couch next to Taeyong. “How was your day?” he asked softly. His eyes were trained on his boys as they played on the floor and he couldn’t tell who had the bigger smile

“Good,” Taeyong said, “pretty quiet. Donghyuck and I switched off working today, so we were both pretty productive.” The boys had been good all day, playing together on the living room floor.

“Oh that’s great, babe,” Kun said happily. He was glad that Taeyong was finally having the time to work on his manuscript. With a soft sigh he dropped his head onto his fiancé’s shoulder and let his eyes close. He was content to sit here for hours listening to the methodic typing and Chenle’s gleeful giggles.

Taeyong sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. There was a moment of quiet as Chenle covered his eyes again, then uncovered them. Taeyong’s eyes flew open when Jisung suddenly burst into giggles. “Baba, he laughed!” Chenle said happily.

Kun sat up quickly and stared at his sons. His lips curled into a wide smile. “Did Chenle do something funny, Jisungie?” he cooed. He didn’t miss the proud look on Chenle’s face just before he covered his eyes again.

Jisung’s laugh died as he looked around, seeming worried that he couldn’t find his brother. When Chenle suddenly reappeared, he started giggling once more.

Kun’s smile widened when Jisung giggled again. “Listen to him, babe,” he breathed. Besides crying and the occasional whine, Jisung hadn’t been all that vocal before now.

"Thank god," Taeyong murmured. Jisung was admittedly a little late to the laughing game and Taeyong had been starting to worry. Not that he would love his son any less if he had a developmental delay, but there would definitely need to be a shift if that were the case.

Kun leaned his head back on Taeyong’s shoulder and continued to watch the boys play. “I hope they get along this well forever,” he whispered. The boys absolutely adored each other and Kun hoped that was a sign that they stay close as they continued to grow.

"They will at least for a little bit," Taeyong said with a happy sigh, "our beautiful boys." He smiled widely as Chenle continued playing peek-a-boo and making Jisung laugh.

Kun wished his mornings at work went as well as his afternoons with his boys. Every day his boss became more and more displeased with him and it all came to a head a couple weeks later. It took everything Kun had not to walk out on the spot when his boss accused him of becoming lazy and less dedicated to his job since he started staying home with his family. He had never been more grateful it was a Friday and all but rushed home to his boys knowing they would be able to cheer him up.

Taeyong was sitting on the floor with Jisung in his lap, helping the baby sit up as Chenle played with him. The older boy was shaking a ring of plastic keys in front of Jisung, who grabbed them tightly and shook them on his own with a laugh before attempting to stick them in his mouth.

Kun pushed the door open to reveal the boys playing together on the living room. “Baba!” Chenle greeted excitedly before he even got through the door. “Hi, baby, looks like you’re having fun,” he responded as chipperly as he could manage. He kicked his shoes off and walked over to the couch. “Do those taste good, Jisungie?” he asked as he slowly sat down.

Taeyong smiled and removed the keyring from Jisung's mouth. He dried them off on a cloth and handed them back to Chenle. "How was your day?" he asked Kun.

Kun sighed sadly and shook his head. “Better now that I’m home,” he replied softly. He knew Taeyong would be angry when he told him about the comments but he wanted to enjoy watching the boys play together for the time being.

Taeyong reached out and took his fiancé's hand in his own. "Just a few more months," he said encouragingly. They had been talking more seriously about the move lately, but had decided to wait until Ten and Yuta had their baby. They wanted to be around for their friends.

Kun smiled softly and squeezed Taeyong’s hand. “What did you boys get up to today?” he asked. Judging by Chenle’s giggle they had managed to have plenty of fun in the few hours he was gone.

"Just some playing around," Taeyong said. He had told Donghyuck to stay home, knowing that the younger man hadn't had much time to spend with his boyfriends lately, so it had just been the three of them all morning.

Kun watched Chenle play a gentle round of tug of war with Jisung. “I can’t believe I  _ still _ haven’t gotten a hug hello yet,” he said dramatically. The toddler immediately surrendered the keys and leapt up so he could climb into Kun’s lap. Kun chuckled quietly and pulled the toddler close. “Hi, baby. Did you have fun playing this morning?” he asked. Chenle nodded and settled into his father’s arms.

Taeyong smiled as he watched his fiancé and their son together. He took over key duty, dangling the plastic ring in front of Jisung as the baby did his best to grab hold of it. He yelled happily when he finally managed to snag a key in his fist.

Kun held Chenle close, taking advantage of the moment as long as he could. That didn’t last long as before he knew it the energetic toddler was off his lap and back on the floor in front of his brother.

Taeyong had the sudden urge to make something for Kun. Since starting to stay home, he’s fallen in love with baking, but hadn’t had much time to do it since Jisung’s arrival. “Lele, wanna help me make a surprise for Kun baba?”

Chenle froze in place, quickly turning his attention from Jisung to Taeyong. After sneaking a quick glance at Kun, he nodded eagerly and hopped to his feet. “A surprise?” Kun asked with a raised eyebrow.

Taeyong nodded with a hum as he got up and handed Jisung off to Kun. “You’re so tense, babe,” he said lightly, “Lele and I are gonna surprise you and you can have baby time while you wait.”

Kun opened his mouth to protest, but the prospect of some time with Jisung kept him quiet. “Be a good helper, Lele,” he said unnecessarily. He happily took Jisung into his arms and held the baby close, smiling when he caught his son yawn.

Taeyong guided Chenle into the kitchen and helped him set up the stool. “What kind of dessert should we make for Kun baba?” he asked.

Kun spread himself out on the couch so he could lay Jisung on his chest. Even after the few months of him being here, it still amazed Kun how tiny the baby was. He did his best to listen for what Taeyong and Chenle were talking about, but he couldn't make anything out. Chenle had meanwhile climbed up onto the stool and was now debating Taeyong's question. "Cupcakes?" he asked after a moment.

“What kind of cupcakes?” Taeyong asked. He knew they had boxed mix and frosting, but if Chenle wanted a different flavor, they’d have to improvise.

"Chocolate!" Chenle answered immediately. He put on a pleading pout hoping that would help his case.

Taeyong bent down and pulled the box of cake mix out of the cabinet. It was a white cake mix, but a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder should make it nice and chocolate-y. “Chocolate it is,” he said, “go wash your hands, Lele.”

Chenle smiled triumphantly and jumped off of the stool so he could push it over to the sink. He was still too short to reach even after climbing back up so he tore off for the bathroom. Jisung picked his head up when he heard Chenle's footsteps, but laid back down with a soft huff when his brother didn't appear in from of him. In record time, Chenle was back in the kitchen ready to help make chocolate cupcakes.

Taeyong rolled up Chenle’s damp sleeves properly before setting him up to start mixing the batter together. He preheated the oven and pulled out the cupcake tray, setting the paper wrappers in each cup.

Chenle did his best to stir the batter, but it was hard. After a few minutes of not making any progress, he gave up and angrily jabbed the wooden spoon in the bowl, letting it fall against the side. "Baba, I can't do it," he whined.

Taeyong stepped over behind Chenle and lifted the boy up on the counter. “I’ll hold the bowl and you stir with both hands, okay?”

Chenle nodded and grabbed the wooden spoon again. It was much easier this time and within a few minutes the batter was completely mixed. "All done," Chenle announced when he was satisfied with his work.

“Good job, baby!” Taeyong praised. He grabbed the tray and an ice cream scoop. “I’ll scoop and you squeeze, okay?” he said, helping Chenle back onto the stool.

Chenle smiled widely at the praise, but was a little bit hesitant climbing back down onto the stool. Once he was settled back on the stool, he reached his hand out towards the ice cream scoop.

“I’ll hold it, babe,” Taeyong said, scooping up some batter, “we don’t wanna get messy, okay?” He held it over the cup and waited for Chenle to squeeze the lever.

Chenle pouted but didn't argue. Instead he wordlessly reached over and squeezed the lever. His pout quickly melted away as he watched the batter slowly pour into the cup.

Taeyong helped Chenle pour the rest of the cups, finishing just as the oven went off to signal it was preheated. They ended up with two full trays of cupcakes, which Taeyong carefully slid in the oven and set a timer for. “Ready to wash dishes, Lele?”

Chenle wrinkled his nose at that. He would much rather play with Jisung, but he knew Taeyong wouldn't let him until he helped clean up. "Okay, baba," he agreed quietly.

Taeyong scraped up what batter was left in the bowl and let Chenle swipe his finger through it to have a taste. The dirty dishes were placed in the sink before he scooped the boy up and used his feet to move the stool to the sink.

Chenle popped his finger into his mouth and hummed happily at the taste. "More?" he asked around his finger. This was his favorite part of baking and he wondered why they couldn't just eat the batter.

“Sorry, Lele, you’ll get sick if you eat more,” Taeyong explained, “you don’t want your tummy to hurt, right?”

Chenle's eyes widened and he immediately pulled his finger from his mouth. He shook his head and wiped his wet finger on his shirt.

Taeyong’s eye twitched as a smear of chocolate showed up on Chenle’s nice clean shirt. Reaching over the boy, he turned the water on and grabbed a sponge.

Chenle watched Taeyong curiously. He didn't particularly want to wash any dishes so he wrapped his arms around his father's neck and laid his head down on his shoulder instead. 

“Lele, can you stand on the stool so I can use both hands?” Taeyong requested. He was still supporting the boy with one hand and that wouldn’t help.

Chenle whined quietly, but loosened his arms so he could climb down regardless. When he was standing on the stool, he turned himself around and wrapped his arms around Taeyong's waist instead. He was going to cuddle his way out of chores if it was the last thing he did.

Taeyong smiled and petted the back of Chenle’s hair. “You’re cute but you still have to help me rinse,” he said, deciding he would leave the actual washing for later.

"I don't wanna," Chenle whined, tightening his grip, "I wanna cuddle." He looked up at Taeyong with big eyes and a pleading pout.

“We can cuddle after,” Taeyong said, “the faster we rinse the dishes, the faster we get to cuddle.”

Chenle stared up at Taeyong for another few minutes before realizing he wasn't getting out of helping. With a quiet huff, he loosened his arms and turned around, ready to get the chores over with.

There were only a few things to rinse; the bowl, the spatula, and the measuring cup. In all honesty, Taeyong didn’t need Chenle to help him, but he was trying to teach the boy more responsibility.

Once the last dish was rinsed, Chenle spun around and stuck his hands in the air so he could be picked up. "Cuddle now?" he begged. 

Taeyong shook his head. Grabbing a towel, he dried Chenle’s hands off then picked the boy. “We have to change your shirt first,” he said.

Chenle immediately dropped his head back onto Taeyong's shoulder when he was picked up. He knew he would have to let go to get changed, but he wanted to at least take advantage of the walk to his bedroom, even if it was a short one.

Taeyong carried Chenle to his room and sat him down on the bed while he grabbed a clean shirt. Once the dirty shirt was off and in the sink soaking in cold water, he dressed the boy and carried him out to the living room.

Kun turned his head when he heard his boys come back into the living room. He smiled when he saw Chenle curled in Taeyong's shoulder. If he wasn't so comfortable and Jisung wasn't asleep he would have sat up, but that could wait a few more minutes. "How did the surprise go?" he asked softly.

“We got a little messy on our shirt but not too bad,” Taeyong said, sitting down in the recliner and letting Chenle settle on his lap. “It’s not done yet though, so stay out of the kitchen.”

Kun chuckled quietly. "Will do," he agreed easily. He knew better than to not listen to his fiancé when he had something like this planned. Chenle was happy now that he could cuddle with Taeyong and after a little bit of adjusting had laid himself comfortably against his father's chest. His thumb came to his mouth and he watched Jisung closely, desperately trying to ward off the sleepiness that had finally caught up to him from his exciting morning.

Taeyong would have to get up in a few minutes to take the cupcakes out of the oven, but it would be a while before they were cool enough to decorate. For now, he was happy with Chenle on his lap.

Kun smiled as he watched Chenle's eyes slowly close, despite the toddler's best efforts to keep them open. "Your little adventure really wore him out," he commented quietly. Meanwhile, Jisung was also fast asleep, happily stretched out on Kun's chest.

Taeyong hummed and rubbed Chenle’s back gently. The boy was out like a light. “Should probably go put him in bed,” he said, but made no move to get up.

Kun pushed himself to sit up, careful not to disturb Jisung. "Why don't I put both boys to bed and we can have a few minutes together before you have to go check on your project?" he suggested.

“You take care of ‘Sung, I’ll get Lele,” Taeyong said, readjusting the toddler and standing up. Chenle was starting to get a bit too big to carry around all the time but for now he didn’t mind.

Kun nodded and slowly stood up. He rubbed Jisung's back when he whined quietly, helping to lull the baby back asleep. Within the next few minutes, Jisung was asleep again and laying in his crib. Only when Kun was sure the baby was comfortable, did he make his way back to the living room, trying unsuccessfully to sneak a peek into the kitchen.

Taeyong settled Chenle in his own bed and went back into the hallway just in time to catch Kun peeking. “They’re still in the oven,” he said, “nice try though.”

Kun whipped around when he realized he was caught. He knew there was no way to play this off so he simply hung his head. "Can I at least get a hint?" he pleaded. He didn't think Taeyong would budge but it was worth a shot anyway.

“You should be able to smell it soon enough,” Taeyong said with a shrug. It was hard to hide the smell of chocolate cake baking.

Kun was satisfied enough with that. "And what exactly am I supposed to do in the meantime?" he asked, tilting his head. He had had a long morning, to put it gently, and he wanted nothing more than to make the most of his afternoon. Even if it was simply laying on the couch with his fiancé wrapped in his arms.

“I’m sure we could find something,” Taeyong said with a smile. He rested his hands on Kun’s waist and leaned up to kiss his fiancé.

Kun hummed happily and wrapped his arms around Taeyong, pulling him closer. He kissed his fiancé back sweetly. The tension in his body melted away and he finally began to relax.

“I finally heard back from that realtor,” Taeyong said as he pulled away, “he’s going to get someone to measure the specs and send us some pictures of that house.” They had finally set their sights on a house in the Los Angeles area and had been waiting for the realtor to give them a better idea of how big it really was.

"Oh, that's wonderful! I hope everything works out with this one. It would really be great for us," Kun said excitedly. He had absolutely fallen in love with the house. Between the sizable yard and the proximity to the city, it was all around a perfect option. He knew better than to get his hopes up too high though.

“I’m just glad we were able to find a realtor fluent in Korean,” Taeyong said. They mostly communicated by email, so it was easy enough to translate himself into English, but their one Skype call had been...interesting, to say the least. They still hadn’t told anyone about their plans, so Johnny or Mark’s help was off the table.

Kun nodded. "I still don't know what we're going to do when we get there," he murmured. Although they had been diligently practicing their English, it certainly wasn't going nearly as well as they'd hoped. "Worse than that, how are we going to tell everyone?" 

“I don’t know,” Taeyong said with a sigh, “I don’t want to put any extra stress on Yuta...”

"Neither do I," Kun said sadly. If they waited until after the baby was born it would give them roughly a month or so before they actually left, which was not a lot of time. On the other hand, Ten and Yuta had been under a lot of stress because of the Yuta's health and the last thing Kun wanted to do was add to that. "I think it's best to wait to tell them until after the baby gets here, but we could always tell Johnny earlier. I'm not sure how he'd react if we wait that long." Kun chewed on his lip; this was truly the hardest part about the whole move.

“That’s true,” Taeyong said, “and Mark too.” He felt bad keeping something like this from his family.

Kun nodded in agreement. It felt more and more real everytime they had conversations like this and he wasn't sure what he was going to do when they actually had to move. With a sigh he tucked his head into his fiancé's neck and tried to push the worry from his mind.

Taeyong smiled softly and combed through the back of Kun’s hair. “Love you,” he murmured.

Kun sighed softly. "Love you too," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the exposed skin at the junction of Taeyong's neck. He stayed like that for a few minutes and nearly jumped out of his skin when a timer suddenly went off. Regretfully, he unwrapped himself from around his fiancé's waist.

“Stay here,” Taeyong said sternly. He made his way into the kitchen and grabbed mitts to take the cupcakes out of the oven. Once they were out of the pans and on a cooling racks, he put the pans on the stove and returned to his fiancé.

Kun stayed obediently rooted to his spot until his phone buzzed from the living room. He sat himself back on the couch and quickly typed out a reply as he waited for Taeyong. When his fiancé came back, he reached his arm out. "I missed you," he said quietly, despite Taeyong only being gone for a mere five minutes. 

Taeyong easily settled into the spot next to his fiancé, all but laying on Kun’s chest. He hummed. Even with Kun being around more, it still felt like they barely had any time alone anymore.

"Hi, babe. Think you can get any closer?" he teased gently. He wrapped his arm around his fiancé, making sure he didn't go anywhere.

“Nah, this seems pretty perfect,” Taeyong said with a smile. He loved being this close to his fiancé.

Kun hummed contently and gently kissed the top of Taeyong's head. "I've missed this," he said softly. He loved both of his sons to the moon and back, but he definitely missed the rare quiet moments he had with Taeyong.

“I’ve missed you,” Taeyong said, “once all this moving stuff is sorted out, we really need to take a night for ourselves.”

"That sounds wonderful. What would we even do with ourselves?" Kun asked half jokingly. He couldn't even remember the last time he and Taeyong had just had a night to themselves.

“Go out to dinner, maybe catch a movie,” Taeyong suggested, “or even just pass the boys off on someone else before we leave and have a night in.”

Kun hummed thoughtfully. "All of that sounds so nice," he whispered. He knew the next couple of months would be hectic and he didn't want to get too ahead of himself, but he couldn't help it. Until then he would have to settle for the few minutes of cuddling here and there that they had.

Taeyong sighed. “Jisung’s growing so fast,” he said softly, “before we know it, he’ll be all grown up and off to college.”

"Jeez, Tae, don't rush it. I can barely imagine him walking or crawling let alone going to college," Kun said quickly. He couldn't deny it though; Jisung was growing fast and so was Chenle.

“We’ll have to start Chenle at school next year,” Taeyong said, a little worried. The boy would be just a few months shy of five and Taeyong hoped he would be able to pick up enough English to not be made fun of.

“Do you think it would be better to hold him back a year?” Kun asked slowly. Chenle was on the younger side and he wondered if it would help with the transition if the boy had extra time home with them.

“We’ll have to see how he adapts,” Taeyong said with a sigh. Maybe they could just start him with a half day preschool?

Kun nodded. “When should we tell him?” he asked quietly. He knew the toddler was going to be extremely upset when he learned he had to leave Jeno and his heart broke at the thought of the inevitable meltdown.

“Once we tell Johnny,” Taeyong said, “Lele won’t be able to keep it a secret and the last thing we need is Yuta finding out.”

Kun nodded in agreement. “At least we don’t have to worry about Jisung,” he said. The only thing they had to worry about with the baby would be actually taking him on the plane.

“We’ll move in early September at the earliest,” Taeyong said, “he should be okay by seven months, I hope. Fourteen hours will be tough, but we’ll get business class and make it a little easier.”

Kun pursed his lips. It was certainly better to travel with the boys when the weather wasn’t too cold, but he didn’t like the thought of Ten and Yuta only having a couple weeks notice. “Yeah, he should be okay. I don’t know how I feel about leaving that early though,” he admitted softly.

“We have time to figure it all out,” Taeyong said, “let’s not worry about it now, okay?” The last thing he wanted was to make his fiancé anxious.

“Okay,” Kun agreed quietly. He held Taeyong a little closer, savoring the moment as much as possible. It was only a matter of time now before one of the boys woke up.

Taeyong wasn’t quite sure how long he had dozed off for, but he woke up to Chenle shaking his arm and whispering that they needed to finish the cupcakes. A glance up told him that Kun was fast asleep. With a yawn, he got up and followed the boy into the kitchen.

Chenle grabbed Taeyong’s hand and all but dragged his father into the kitchen. He pushed his stool back over to the counter and eagerly climbed back up.

Taeyong flicked the light on and grabbed a can of vanilla frosting out of the cabinet. “What color frosting do you want, Lele?” he asked as he searched for a butter knife.

"Green," Chenle answered immediately. He stood on his tiptoes and tried desperately to reach for the can of frosting, but he was still too short.

Taeyong grabbed food dye off the top shelf. There was a tiny bottle of green. He put a few drops in and mixed it up before showing Chenle. “Is that good or should we go darker?” he asked.

Chenle stared at the frosting for a minute before finally making up his mind. "Darker," he decided with a nod. He stared up at Taeyong for approval.

Taeyong added a few more drops and mixed it up again before showing Chenle the new shade. “Better?”

"Better," Chenle affirmed, "Will Kun baba like?" He was excited to surprise Kun, but he was a little nervous his father wouldn't like the cupcakes.

“He’ll love it, baby, don’t you worry,” Taeyong said. He slowly walked Chenle through how to frost the cupcakes then left the boy to his own devices, keeping a careful eye out for any messes.

Chenle beamed happily. He paid close attention to Taeyong's instructions on how to frost the cupcakes and took his time, making sure each and every one was perfect. "All done, baba!" he announced proudly when he was finally finished.

“Those look amazing, baby, good job,” Taeyong said. He took the can and knife from Chenle. The can was capped and put away, while he swiped a little frosting from the knife and dabbed it on the boy’s nose before dropping the utensil in the sink. He moved the cupcakes to a plate.

Chenle giggled loudly when Taeyong put frosting on his nose. He quickly wiped it off with his finger and licked it. "Wake up Kun baba now?" he asked once he was sure he had gotten all of the frosting off of his nose.

“In a couple minutes,” Taeyong said, “wanna help me check on Jisungie?”

"Okay," Chenle agreed easily. He hopped off the stool and took off for the bedroom. His socks caused him to slip a little on the tile, but he quickly caught himself before he fell.

“Careful, kiddo!” Taeyong called after him. He followed Chenle to the bedroom and found the boy staring over the side of the bassinet intently. Jisung appeared to still be asleep, but Taeyong could tell from the doorway that he definitely needed a diaper change.

Chenle kept his eyes glued on his brother and waited until he heard Taeyong come in the room. "Baba, he smells," he said, wrinkling his nose.

Taeyong laughed softly and lifted the baby out of the bassinet. “Smells like Jisungie needs a new diaper,” he said. The baby whined in his arms and kicked his feet. “Wanna help me change him, Lele?”

"Okay," Chenle said apprehensively. He would much rather help feed the baby, but he wanted to be a good helper for Taeyong.

Taeyong boosted Chenle up on his desk chair and laid Jisung on the changing table. He, again, didn’t really need Chenle’s help, but he figured Kun could probably use the few extra minutes of sleep.

Chenle scooted back in the chair and made sure to sit out of the way. He wasn't really sure what to do and he was more content to simply watch Taeyong rather than risk getting in trouble for doing something wrong.

Taeyong changed Jisung as quickly as he could, not wanting to be exposed to the smell for too long. Once the baby was fully clean and on his way to fully awake, he scooped him up, helped Chenle off the chair, and went to wake Kun.

Chenle jogged into the living room and over to the couch. He carefully climbed into Kun's lap and tapped his father's cheek. "Baba, wake up," he whispered loudly. Kun blinked his eyes open when he felt something hitting his cheek and was not surprised to come face to face with Chenle. "Hi, baby," he said, voice hoarse from sleep. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep and had no idea how long his impromptu nap had lasted.

Taeyong entered the room, cradling Jisung in his arms, and smiled at Kun. “Lele, is there something you wanna show baba?”

"Come, come," Chenle said excitedly, clambering off Kun's lap. "I'm coming, baby," Kun said, groaning as he pulled himself off of the couch. He was still half asleep, but he hadn't forgotten about the surprise his son and fiancé had put together. He let Chenle pull him into the kitchen and smiled widely when he saw the plate of cupcakes sitting in the middle of the table. "Lele, did you make these?" he asked.

“Lele mixed and scooped and decorated,” Taeyong said with a fond smile. The baby on his shoulder cooed softly and he rubbed his back.

Kun knelt down and wrapped the toddler in a tight hug. "They look so good, Lele. I'm so excited to try one," he said, suddenly wide awake. When he stood back up he picked Chenle up and carefully selected the cupcake he wanted. He knew he wasn't setting a good example by having dessert before dinner, but rules were made to be bent every now and then.

“Make sure you let Lele have a bite, Kunnie,” Taeyong said, “he worked really hard on making these nice for you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of not sharing,” Kun said as he carefully peeled back the wrapper. He eagerly bit into the cupcake and hummed contently. Chocolate was his favorite. “It’s so good, Lele,” he mumbled through the food in his mouth. He offered the cupcake to the toddler and made sure he only took a small bite.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Kun and Chenle eating their cupcake. Chenle had actually done a pretty good job with the decorating.

"Babe, you really need to try one," Kun insisted. He placed the empty wrapper from his own cupcake on the table and reached for the plate. Chenle spun around in Kun's arms and looked at Taeyong expectantly. 

Taeyong smiled and reached for a cupcake. He used his teeth to peel down one side of the wrapper and took a bite, humming happily. They were a little dense, but not bad at all.

"Another one?" Chenle asked hopefully. "We can share another one later, but we can't ruin dinner," Kun bargained. Surprisingly the toddler didn't pout and instead simply nodded in understanding. He dropped his chin onto his father's shoulder and watched Jisung intently. His legs swung back and forth occasionally knocking into Kun's side. "Do you want to help cook or do you want to go play with Jisungie?" Kun asked after a moment.

Jisung was fully awake now and looking around over Taeyong's shoulder. With a smile, Taeyong turned him around so he could see his father and brother. When he caught sight of Chenle, he yelled happily and reached out for him.

Chenle smiled widely and wiggled until Kun put him down. He immediately ran over to Taeyong and stood on his tip toes trying to reach Jisung, but it was too no avail. "Baba, can I play with Jisungie?" he asked, pulling on Taeyong's shirt. 

"Sure, baby, let's go in the living room," Taeyong said, taking his son's hand and leading him toward the couch.

Chenle didn't walk so much as bounce across the apartment, but he reached his destination regardless. He only let go of Taeyong's hand so he could climb onto the couch.

Taeyong sat down on the couch and lowered Jisung to his lap. "You wanna play peek a boo with him?"

Chenle nodded and put his hands over his eyes immediately. “Peek-a-boo!” he cried, pulling his hands from his eyes. He frowned when he realized that Jisung wasn’t even looking at him.

Taeyong glanced down and noticed that Jisung wasn't paying attention to Chenle at all. He tickled the baby's stomach, making him giggle. "What'cha lookin' at, bug, hm? Watching Kun baba?"

Chenle pouted, quickly realizing he wasn’t going to get any attention from his brother or his father. Rather than try to play with Jisung anymore, he curled up into a ball and snuggled into Taeyong’s side. He pressed as close as possible and grabbed onto his father’s shirt.

Taeyong petted Chenle’s hair. “You wanna hold the baby?” he offered.

Chenle nodded and pushed himself to sit up. He kept his tight grip on Taeyong’s shirt while he waited for his father to lift the baby up.

Taeyong lifted Jisung and settled him on Chenle lap, still sitting upright. “You gotta hug him tight, okay?”

"Okay, baba," Chenle said seriously. He wrapped his arms around his brother and pulled him closer. "Like this?" He had never held the baby on his own before and he was nervous he would do something wrong.

“Yeah, just like that,” Taeyong praised, “you’re doing such a good job, baby. I’m gonna check and see if baba needs any help with dinner, okay? I’ll be right back.”

"Baba, don't go," Chenle whimpered nervously. He had never been left alone with Jisung, let alone holding him, and he was scared something would happen.

“I’ll be right back,” Taeyong assured Chenle, “and I’ll be able to see you the entire time.”

Chenle whined quietly. He didn't like this one bit, but he was determined to do a good job regardless. When he looked back down at his brother he was pleasantly surprised to find the baby looking back up at him. "Hi, Jisungie," he whispered quietly.

Taeyong stayed at the edge of the room as he stuck his head into the kitchen. “Need any help, babe?” he asked, “I can bring the boys in here to play.”

"I wouldn't be opposed to some company, but I don't want you to move the boys for me," Kun replied. He didn't necessarily need any help, but it would be nice to get to spend more time with his boys.

Taeyong hummed. “Just call for me if you need help,” he said before returning to his spot next to his boys.

Chenle didn't even notice Taeyong come back until he sat back down. He looked up at his father with big eyes. "Hi, baba," he whispered nervously.

“You’re doing such a good job, baby,” Taeyong said, settling an arm behind the boy’s back. He was so proud of his baby.

Chenle leaned against Taeyong. He couldn't snuggle any closer with his brother's weight on his legs, but he was content where he was.

Taeyong smiled and rubbed Chenle’s back. The boy was such a good older brother and it was so wonderful to see him treating the baby so gently. **  
**


	32. Chapter 32

Their nights continued much in the same routine. Chenle gradually became more confident holding Jisung and within the next couple weeks had even begun to beg to hold the baby. Which was where they were at right now. Kun had corralled the toddler onto the couch and was just laying the baby in his lap. They were waiting for Johnny to come over and he hoped this would keep Chenle occupied until he arrived.

Taeyong hummed as he went to open the door for Johnny. “Hey, come on in!” he said happily. They had invited him over to break the news about their move and he couldn’t deny that he was nervous.

“Hi, hyung,” Kun greeted as chiperly as he could manage. He knew they wouldn’t be able to hide the news for much longer without Johnny figuring them out, but it was still nerve racking. Now that the older man was in front if them, Kun realized just how hard breaking the news was going to be.

“There’s my boys!” Johnny said, coming over to kiss Chenle and Jisung on their heads. “Have you been good for your babas?”

Chenle nodded eagerly and Kun quickly picked Jisung off of his lap. Once he was free, he scrambled to his feet and reached his arms up to Johnny. Kun smiled softly and sat Jisung on his lap so he could see his brother and his uncle.

“Hi, kiddo!” Johnny picked Chenle up and let the boy cling to his neck tightly. “Has Jisungie been good too?”

"Yes, but not better than me," Chenle mumbled into his uncle's neck. Kun chuckled and bounced his leg, earning himself a small giggle from the baby. Johnny was so good with the boys and Kun hoped that the older man would have the opportunity to have his own kids.

Johnny laughed softly. He heard Jisung giggle and wiggled his fingers at the baby teasingly before turning his attention back to the toddler in his arms. “What are we having for dinner, Chef Chenle?”

"Bulgogi!" Chenle announced excitedly as he picked up his head. He wiggled excited and pointed towards the kitchen.

“Oh, yummy!” Johnny said, finally putting Chenle back down on the couch. “Are you helping baba cook?”

“I’m playing with Jisungie,” Chenle said, plopping back down in his spot next to Kun. “Play with us?” he stared up at Johnny with pleading eyes and a small pout.

“I’d love to,” Johnny said happily, taking a seat on the floor and reaching out for the baby. “Hi, bug!” he cooed as he took Jisung into his arms, “you’re getting so big!”

“How come Jisungie gets a nickname? I want one too,” Chenle said crossing his arms. “You have a nickname, baby,” Kun said pulling the toddler into his lap, “do you not like being called ‘Lele’?” The toddler wasn’t quite satisfied but he cuddled up to Kun regardless. “I wan’ a  _ animal _ nickname,” he whined.

“What kind of animal?” Johnny asked as he sat Jisung over his thigh and started bouncing his leg lightly.

Chenle hummed quietly and tightened his grip on Kun’s shirt as he thought. After a moment he gasped quietly. “Dolphin!” he said excitedly. Kun shook his head. That was one of the animals the toddler had learned recently and he took everyone opportunity he could to talk about them. Much to his and Taeyong’s dismay the toddler had even taken to imitating them.

Johnny could tell from Kun’s reaction that calling Chenle a dolphin would likely not end well. “Really? I think you’re more like a tiger,” he said.

“Tiger?” Chenle asked, slightly confused, “why tiger?” Kun was incredibly grateful that Johnny had decided against using the toddler’s original suggestion.

“Because you’re fierce and a little fuzzy,” Johnny said, reaching out to mess up the boy’s hair. It was amazing how much he had grown up.

Chenle giggled and tried to hide himself in his father’s chest. “Baba, am I tiger?” he asked. “I think you’re the fiercest tiger the world has ever seen,” Kun assured. The toddler was happy with that, the idea of being a dolphin long forgotten.

“Who’s a tiger?” Taeyong asked as he entered the living room. “Me, me!” Chenle yelled, bouncing himself on Kun’s lap.

Kun smiled widely and reached out towards his fiancé. He had one arm wrapped around Chenle so the toddler didn’t slip off of his lap. Now that they were all together it would be the perfect opportunity to tell Johnny, but they still hadn’t told Chenle and Kun didn’t want to ruin dinner.

Taeyong stepped over and gave Kun a chaste kiss. “Dinner’s ready,” he announced.

Kun set Chenle on the floor and watched the toddler tear off for the kitchen. He took Jisung into his arms, half so Johnny could stand and half for some comfort. Dinner went smoothly and Kun’s nerves shot through the roof when they were done. He knew they couldn’t delay any longer so he took a deep breath and sent Chenle to his room to play, promising he would be in when he was done cleaning the kitchen.

Taeyong smiled reassuringly at Kun, cradling Jisung on his shoulder so he could burp the baby. “So we actually have some news that we’ve been meaning to share,” he started slowly, “but it needs to be kept from Tennie and Yuta until the baby’s born, okay?”

Kun watched Johnny carefully. He knew there was no going back now, and there was simply nothing he could do other than hope the older man reacted okay. But that was wishful thinking.

Johnny nodded slowly. He could understand that. He had seen first hand just how tough pregnancy had been on Yuta and introducing a new stressor might just put him over the edge. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Tae and I have been talking a lot recently and we realized this apartment is getting a little small for us. We’ve been looking around and we finally found something that we liked,” Kun began. He knew he was dragging this out but he couldn’t help it. He took a deep breath and trudged on. “We’re going to be moving to the States in a couple of months.”

Johnny looked between the two of them. “You’re joking,” he said, then, “you  _ are  _ joking, right?”

Kun sat back in his seat and shot a nervously glance at Taeyong. “No, hyung, it’s...it’s not a joke,” he said slowly, “we think its the best option for us.” He worried at his lip, not quite sure what else to do.

“That’s...insane,” Johnny said, “neither of you even speak English! How do you expect to get jobs or anything?”

“We’ve been practicing,” Kun explained, “we found a realtor that speaks Korean so we’ve been okay finding a house. Job applications have been a little harder though.” He turned his head down and focused his eyes on his hands.

Johnny sighed. If he knew Taeyong at all, he knew that the younger man would have thought through everything. “You guys are really sure about this?”

To be honest Kun still wasn’t entirely sure, but he knew it would be good for them in the long run. “Yeah we are,” he said softly, “we really want to get married and we want a good life for our boys.”

"It's been a tough decision, but we think it's the best option for us," Taeyong said softly, "we'll still be here for a few months, though. It's not like we're leaving tomorrow."

Kun nodded in agreement. "You're the first person we've told," he added quietly. He was grateful that Johnny wasn't angry with them, but he knew the older man was still upset, rightfully so.

"It would mean a lot to us if you would keep this from Yuta until after he has the baby," Taeyong said quietly. Johnny nodded. "Of course, I totally get that. Just don't keep it from him for too long, okay?"

"We won't," Kun assured quickly. More than anything, he hated waiting so long to tell Ten. They had been best friends since the beginning of college and he wanted to give his friend plenty of notice.

"Thank you, Johnny," Taeyong said quietly. It meant a lot to him that Johnny was so understanding about all of it.

Kun wanted to feel relieved now that Johnny knew, but it only made the whole thing that much more real. “I’m gonna go check on Chenle,” he said, pushing himself up from the table.

"Are you really okay with this?" Taeyong asked Johnny once Kun had left the room. "I mean, I can't really tell you no," the older man said, "I'm just gonna miss you guys."

"Baba, come play!" Chenle yelled happily when Kun walked into the bedroom. Kun sat down in the middle of the room with a soft smile. He was still a little distracted, but luckily Chenle didn't seem to notice.

"It's scary," Taeyong admitted, "but I can't continue to not have control over my family. Every day that I go without marrying Kunnie is another day that I risk losing everything."

Kun didn't realize he was spacing out until he felt a weight in his lap. "Hi, baby," he said quietly, quickly realizing the toddler was mere centimeters from his face. He leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on the tip of the boy's nose, earning himself a quiet giggle.

Johnny nodded slowly. "I'm not really supposed to tell anyone about this, but Ten and Yuta were considering leaving Korea too," he said, "Yuta misses home and Japan is a lot better for gay couples."

Kun wrapped his arms around Chenle and held his son close. The toddler was none the wiser and snuggled closer, all too happy for cuddles. Meanwhile, Kun's mind was running a mile a minute. Sure telling Johnny had gone well, but how would they even begin to tell the toddler?

Taeyong hugged Johnny tightly, grateful that he had his best friend on his side. Johnny had always been there for him.

"Come on, baby, let's go back into the kitchen," Kun said after a moment. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, keeping his son wrapped tightly in his arms.

Taeyong pulled away from Johnny just as Kun and Chenle came back into the room. "Hi, baby," he said with a smile.

Chenle wiggled his way out of Kun's arms and walked over to where Taeyong was sitting. He couldn't quite climb into his lap while he was holding Jisung, so he switched his target to Johnny. Not even bothering to ask, he did his best to pull himself up onto his Uncle's thigh, but it was proving much more difficult that he planned.

"Lele, you need to ask," Taeyong reminded him. He knew that Johnny wouldn't mind, but Chenle still needed to use his manners.

Chenle gave up and took a step back from Johnny. "Up?" he asked, sticking his arms in the air. He finished it off with his signature pout.

"Lele, use your manners," Taeyong said. He knew that Chenle knew how to use the word please.

"Please," Chenle whined. Usually Johnny would just scoop him up without him having to even ask. Kun chuckled quietly and shook his head. He slowly lowered himself into a seat across the table and rested his chin in his hand.

Taeyong smiled and nodded at Johnny, who finally bent down to pick Chenle up and settle him on his lap.

Chenle beamed victoriously and settled himself comfortably on Johnny's lap. He sat there happily until Kun announced that it was time to say goodbye. He turned around and wrapped his arms around Johnny's waist. "Bye bye, Uncle J," he mumbled quietly.

"You'll get to see him soon," Taeyong assured Chenle, "c'mon, let Uncle J go."

Chenle clambered down from Johnny's lap but stuck by his uncle's side all the way to the front door. Kun was a little concerned with how clingy the toddler was being and he almost wondered if it would be worth it to bring up moving to him.

Taeyong scooped Chenle up, making sure he didn't follow Johnny all the way out of the apartment. Once Johnny left, he put the boy back down again. "Did you have fun with Uncle J?"

Chenle nodded. He eventually pulled his eyes from the door and looked at Taeyong. "Baba, can I play with Jisungie?" he asked.

Taeyong glanced at the baby in the living room. He was in his swing, fast asleep. "Jisungie's asleep, kiddo," he said, "you can play with him later."

Chenle pouted. "You play with me?" he asked instead. Kun shifted nervously on his feet. "Should we tell him now?" he signed, careful to make sure the toddler didn't see him. While they hadn't kept up teaching him sign as well as they would have liked, he still knew a decent amount for his age.

Taeyong sighed and nodded. They might as well tell him while Jisung was out.

Kun took a deep breath. "Before we go play, we have something to tell you," he said gently. He had a backup plan in case the toddler reacted poorly to his opening statement, but he would rather break the news now. Their son deserved to know the big changes that were coming.

Chenle looked at Kun with an alarmed expression. “In trouble?” he asked worriedly.

"No, no, baby, you're not in trouble," Kun answered quickly. He reached out to run his fingers through his son's hair soothingly. "We're going to be moving to a nice new house. It's going to have more room for you to play and a big backyard." He hoped that would be enough to excite the toddler considering the worst part was yet to come.

“New house?” Chenle said curiously. Why did they need to move to a new house? He liked this one! “No!”

Kun sighed sadly. This wasn't going to go well at all. "This one is getting too small, baby. Jisungie is gonna need his own room soon. And we need a bigger house if we're gonna get a puppy," he said patiently. He knew he was bribing the toddler, but he had no qualms about getting a dog when they had the room for one.

“Jisungie share!” Chenle declared. There, he had solved it. If Jisung shared with him, there would be no reason to get a new house.

Kun shook his head. In reality, the boys could share a room for the time being, but as they got bigger that certainly wouldn't work. On top of the fact that the apartment could barely fit the four of them as they were now. "Lele, this house isn't big enough for us anymore. You're getting so big and we want you to have plenty of room to play," he said.

“Play at park,” Chenle insisted. He didn’t want to move. This was his house, his! Why did he have to give it to someone else?

"There'll be a park near the new house," Kun said, but he quickly realized trying to convince Chenle wasn't going to work. "Why don't you want to move, baby? You're going to love the new house when you see it. I promise," He looked at Taeyong desperately; his fiancé was so much better at explaining things like this to the toddler.

“Don’t wanna!” Chenle said stubbornly, “This is my house!” What about this was Kun baba not understanding? He crossed his arms and looked away. “Lele,” Taeyong said gently, “the new house will be yours too.”

"It'll all be yours and it'll be much better than this. We're all going to be there and so will all of yours toys. I promise everything's gonna be okay, baby," Kun said soothingly. At this point he was probably causing more harm than good, but he didn't know what the right approach was anymore.

Chenle peeked up at Kun. “Jeno still come?” he asked shyly. As long as he could still see his best friend, he would be okay.

"Jeno will still come visit every now and then. And we'll go visit Jeno too. We'll just be a little far to see him as often as we do now," Kun said slowly. He wasn't sure how often the toddler would see his friend, if ever, but he didn't want to make Chenle upset. Everything was already hard enough as it was.

“Far?” Chenle asked, lower lip already wobbling. How far were they going? If he couldn’t see Jeno often, that meant he would see Tennie and Uncle J even less! That wasn’t good at all!

"Not too far," Kun said quickly. Even though he knew lying now would bite him in the ass, he couldn't stop himself. He didn't think he could handle toddler having a breakdown at the moment and he was determined not to let it get to that. 

“Kunnie,” Taeyong said softly, “remember what happened at the airport? We don’t need a repeat.” He would much rather have Chenle have a meltdown here at home than on a fourteen hour flight to Los Angeles.

Kun chewed on his lip nervously. His eyes darted between his fiancé and his son and he didn't know who was harder to look at. He hated seeing his son upset, but Taeyong was right; it was better home than in an airport. "We're going to the States, Lele. It's far from here, but we'll still be able to see everyone sometimes," he said slowly. He knew the toddler was too young to comprehend quite how far away that actually was, but he knew it would still be upsetting.

“Drive?” Chenle asked. His own real way of knowing distance was through transportation. If it was a long drive, that was okay, because he could just drive to Jeno! But if they had to fly again…

"No, we can't drive. We have to fly there," Kun said sadly. He watched the toddler closely, waiting for the inevitable. 

Chenle’s lip wobbled as he processed what that meant. He knew what flying was and he knew that they only ever flew one place: China. His babas were really taking him back this time! He burst into tears, struggling to get out of Taeyong’s hold.

Kun's chest tightened and he took a deep breath to compose himself. "It's okay, Lele. We're all going to fly together and we're all going to the States together," he said softly. He reached towards the toddler with one hand, trying to prevent him from squirming out of Taeyong's arms.

Chenle didn’t know what the States was, but it must be part of China if they had to fly to get there. “No!” he sobbed, “no China! No! No!”

Kun's eyes widened as he began to understand why Chenle was so upset. "No, baby, we're not going to China. The States are completely different. You'll like it a lot better there and all four of us are going together," he explained, "we're not sending you back; you're coming with us." His voice grew softer as he talked. 

Taeyong didn’t say anything. He knew Chenle wouldn’t listen to reason from anyone but Kun, so he just kept quiet and rubbed the boy’s back, trying to calm him down.

Kun rubbed Chenle's back gently. He took a tentative step closer to the pair before continuing. "You're going to stay with us forever. I know flying is scary, Lele, but I promise we're not going to China," he said sincerely, "I'm sorry we scared you."

Taeyong’s attention drifted when he caught a noise from the other side of the room. “Here, take Lele,” he said, passing the boy to Kun, “I think Jisungie’s waking up.”

Kun took the toddler and held him close. He whispered soothingly to the toddler, hoping to calm him down quickly. He didn’t pace the room, but he did rock gently back and forth, standing so that Chenle had a clear view of his brother.

Taeyong lifted Jisung out of his swing and laid the sleepy baby over his shoulder. “Maybe show him on a map,” he called to Kun.

“Let’s go look at a map,” he said quietly. He carried the toddler into their bedroom, snagging Taeyong’s laptop from his desk. He settled the toddler on his lap and keep one arm wrapped securely around him while he used his free hand to pull up a map of the world.

"What's up, bug?" Taeyong said softly and he paced around the living room, bouncing Jisung lightly, "you hungry? Stinky?" He lifted him to check, but his diaper was still clean. "Just wanna be social?"

Kun picked a simple map so he didn’t confuse Chenle more. “Here’s where we are now,” he said pointing to South Korea. “And here’s China.” He pointed at his homeland and sighed sadly when his finger stopped just about where Fujian was. “And here,” he dragged his finger dramatically across the map, “is where we’re moving.” This definitely put into perspective how far the States really were, but at least the toddler would understand they really weren’t taking him back.

Chenle sniffled as he looked at the map. "Not China?" he asked, pointing at Kun's finger.

“No, baby, it’s not China. It’s completely different,” Kun said kissing the top of his son’s head gently.

Chenle sniffled again and hid his face in Kun's neck. As long as it wasn't China, he guessed that was okay. Just as long as he could see Jeno when he wanted to.

Kun set the laptop to the side and held Chenle close. “It’s okay, baby,” he said soothingly, “I’m scared too, but all four of us are gonna stay together no matter what. I promise.”

"Promise?" Chenle asked, lifting his head from Kun's neck. The last thing he wanted was to leave his family.

“I absolutely promise. There’s not a single person on this Earth that will ever take you away from us,” Kun assured immediately. He tried to muster a small smile, but the toddler’s distressed expression was making it difficult.

Chenle hugged Kun's neck tightly. "Okay," he mumbled, voice muffled by Kun's neck, "Lele move."

Kun wrapped both arms around the toddler and held him close. All things considered this went much better than it could have. He sat there quietly for a moment, making sure Chenle was completely calmed down. “Do you wanna go see what Jisungie is up to or do you want to stay here?” he asked quietly.

Chenle whined. "Stay with baba," he mumbled. He loved Jisungie but he just Kun baba right now. Kun baba always made him feel better.

Kun smiled softly. He loved the alone time he had with Chenle, but he certainly wished the circumstances were better. He couldn’t remember the last time he had sang to the toddler and he wondered if Chenle remembered the lullaby he used to sing when they first brought him home. After a minute of debate, he decided to try it and quickly found he was a lot rustier with the lyrics than he anticipated.

Chenle found himself wiggling along with Kun baba's song. He loved this song and his giggled every time Kun baba missed a word.

Kun was glad that Chenle was finally beginning to relax. He stopped abruptly in the middle when he heard the toddler’s giggles. “Are you gonna help me remember the words or are you just gonna keep giggling?” he asked teasingly.

Chenle giggled. He didn't know the words; that was Kun baba's job, not his.

“Does that mean I’m on my own?” Kun asked rhetorically. He decided to start the song over and luckily did a little bit better with the words this time around. It felt weird to be singing in Mandarin considering he rarely spoke it around the house anymore, but he wanted Chenle to remember as much as possible.

Chenle nodded, giggling behind his hands. "Don't know the words, baba," he said.

“Do you want me to teach you the first part?” Kun asked. He wouldn’t be upset if the toddler didn’t want to learn, but it’d be cute for him to sing to his brother.

"Yeah!" Chenle said excitedly, "wanna sing to Sungie!" He could take care of his brother just how Kun baba and Taeyong baba took care of him.

Kun smiled softly. “I’m sure Jisungie would love that,” he said happily. He opted to only teach the toddler the first few lines to begin with. The song was long so he wanted to do it bit by bit so Chenle didn’t get discouraged too quickly.

Chenle did his best to follow along with what Kun baba was singing. He hoped Jisungie would like it.

“You’re doing so good,” Kun praised once they finished the first part, “we can keep practicing until Taeyong baba brings Jisungie in here and then you can show the both of them.”

Chenle did his best to not trip over the words as he kept reciting the lyrics. "When's Jisungie coming?" he asked a minute later.

“He should be coming in soon. It’s almost bedtime,” Kun said, glancing at the clock. He gave it another couple minutes before calling down the hallway. “Hey, Tae, can you bring Jisungie in here?”

Taeyong glanced up when Kun called for him and made his way down to their bedroom. "What's up?" he asked as he stepped in, still bouncing Jisung gently.

“Lele has something he wants to show both of you,” he said. He glanced down at the toddler and have him an encouraging nod. He sang along with his son to help him with the words, but he made sure to keep his voice quiet.

Chenle stumbled his way through the song as best as he could but smiled proudly when he managed to end on the right word. "Did you like it, Sungie?" he asked, pushing up on his knees to stare at the baby.

Kun smiled proudly. He helped balance Chenle on his lap so he could see his brother without toppling over. “That was perfect, Lele,” he whispered.

Taeyong glanced at the baby on his shoulder. "You put him fast asleep, Lele," he said softly, pride in his voice.

Kun pulled Chenle back against himself and kissed his son’s temple. “You’re such a amazing big brother,” he praised, “let’s get you already for bed and then you can come snuggle with us a little bit more.” He gathered Chenle in his arms and stood up so he could get him bathed and changed.

Taeyong settled Jisung in his bassinet and kissed his forehead gently. Once he was sure the baby was sound asleep, he turned on the monitor and made his way down to the bathroom to peek in on Chenle's antics.

Chenle had gotten into the bath no problem, but that was about where it ended. He was much more worried about covering every inch of the bathroom, including Kun, in water. “Want another shower?” Kun asked jokingly when Taeyong peaked into the bathroom.

"I very much do not, thank you," Taeyong said with a laugh, "Lele, are you being good?"

Chenle nodded eagerly. "Yes, baba!" he chirped. Kun couldn't help the exasperated sigh that slipped past his lips. Quickly catching himself, he bit his lip and shifted himself so he was out of the firing range. He leaned against the wall and decided to wait until the toddler spent the last of his energy.

"Lele, the water needs to stay in the tub," Taeyong admonished gently. He knew Chenle was just playing, but it would have to end eventually.

"But I wanna splash," Chenle whined with a pout. "We'll take you to a pool where you can splash," Kun bargained, "for now we have to get you clean." He slid ever so slightly closer to the tub, bracing himself incase the torment wasn't over.

"I'll leave you two to it," Taeyong said with a smile. He retreated to the bedroom and reclaimed his laptop, getting out to do some writing.

Kun had no idea how long it took him to convince Chenle to let him shampoo his hair. Finally what felt like hours later the toddler was washed, dried, dressed in his pajamas, and ready for the cuddles he was promised. Kun carried his son into their room and set him down on the bed, watching him scurry over to snuggle into Taeyong's side.

Taeyong absently lifted an arm for Chenle to crawl under, settling it around the boy and returning to typing. "All clean, Lele?"

Chenle settled himself next to Taeyong and rested his head on his father's chest. He ignored Taeyong's question. too distracted by the flurry of words appearing on the computer screen. Kun got changed as well and lowered himself into bed with a soft groaned. He laid on his stomach, pillowing his head on his arms so he could watch his boys.

"Hey," Taeyong said, tapping Chenle's leg under his hand, "don't ignore me or I'll have to tickle you, Lele."

“No, no tickles,” Chenle said quickly. He tried to back away from Taeyong, but he was trapped against his father’s side. “I’m all clean, baba, I promise.”

Taeyong smiled and moved his hand to ruffle Chenle's hair. "Good," he said, moving his laptop to the nightstand, "that means I can give you kisses!"

Chenle squealed in delight. He was still trapped against Taeyong’s side, but he didn’t care. He was more than happy to receive tons of kisses from his baba and it was only fair for him to return them. And try that he did.

Taeyong all but tackled his son, holding Chenle tight and absolutely smothering him in kisses. "You'll never get away from me!" he joked.

Chenle shrieked happily. “Baba, baba, save me!” he screamed reaching out towards Kun. “I’m coming, Lele,” he said as he scooted across the bed. Rather than rescuing the toddler from Taeyong he simply joined in, sneaking in kisses wherever he could.

Taeyong hushed the toddler. “We don’t wanna wake up Jisungie, baby,” he said quietly, “let’s play quietly, okay?”

“Sorry, baba,” Chenle mumbled as he snuggled closer. He did his best to hide his face in Taeyong’s side, escaping the barrage of kisses he was getting.

“It’s okay, baby,” Taeyong said with a smile. He gently swatted Kun away from where he was still trying to attack Chenle with kisses, leaning down to steal one for himself instead.

Chenle giggled quietly and dared poking his head out. Kun pouted at Taeyong, pretending to be upset that he was pushed away.

Taeyong smiled softly as he caught Chenle trying to hide a yawn. “I think it’s bedtime,” he said softly.

"Come on, baby, let's go. You've had a long day and you need some sleep," Kun said as he picked up the drowsy toddler. He was sure Taeyong got his last few kisses in before carrying his son into his own room. Thankfully, the toddler when down easily and Kun stole a couple more of his own kisses before returning to the bedroom. After checking on Jisung, he climbed into bed and gathered Taeyong into his arms.

A few weeks later found Taeyong and Kun in a maternity ward waiting room with Johnny. They were waiting nervously for a nurse to come out and tell them Yuta’s baby had been born healthy. Despite knowing that Ten and Yuta had done everything right, it was still nerve wracking. Johnny was faring the worst out of the three of them, pacing back and forth and driving Taeyong bonkers.

Kun wished there was something he could do to help calm Johnny down, but he was at a loss. Eventually a nurse finally came into the waiting area and announced that they could come meet the baby. Kun had to restrain himself from leaping out of the chair and fell into step behind Johnny to follow the nurse to the room.

Taeyong pulled Johnny aside just before they entered the room. “You have to calm down,” he said sternly, “you being anxious will only make them anxious.”

Kun waited until Taeyong and Johnny were ready before knocking softly and pushing open the door to the room. He stepped aside so that Johnny could enter first and then made a beeline for his best friend. Ten hugged Kun tightly and buried his head in his best friend’s neck. His shoulders shook from the strain of trying to hold back tears. “I thought I was going to lose both of them,” he whispered shakily. “Oh, Tennie,” Kun murmured. He consoled the younger man and was relieved when Ten let go and gave him a small smile.

Johnny all but ran over to Yuta, about to start fussing before he remembered Taeyong’s warnings. “How are you feeling?” he asked instead.

"Tired...and sore," Yuta replied quietly. He subconsciously held the small baby in his arms a little closer. His eyes darted nervously between the men standing around his bed, until they landed on Johnny.

Taeyong went over to talk to Ten, giving Johnny and Yuta their space. “Hey there, little guy,” Johnny said softly, crouching down next to the bed with his eyes on the tiny infant in Yuta’s arms.

Yuta looked down at his son. "His name's Jaemin," he whispered. His eyes flicked to Ten before dropping back down to the baby.

“Hi, Jaemin,” Johnny whispered, even though the baby was asleep. He couldn’t believe that the baby was finally here. After all the pain Yuta had endured, it was finally over.

Yuta chewed on his lip. He knew he was being irrationally hesitant, but considering everything that had happened he really couldn't help himself. His mind battled with itself as he tried to figure out what to do. Eventually he made up his mind and took a deep breath. "Do you want to hold him?" he asked so quietly you could almost miss it.

Johnny glanced up at Yuta, a little surprised that the younger man was offering already. “Not if I’m holding him before Tennie,” he said, “otherwise I’d love to.”

“Ten held him earlier,” Yuta said. It had taken him a while to fully wake up from the anesthesia and Ten hadn’t let the baby out of his sight much less his arms during that whole time.

Johnny carefully sat on the bed next to Yuta’s legs and lifted the tiny bundle out of his arms. “Hi, Jaeminnie,” he said again softly, “I’m your Uncle J.”

Yuta saw Ten’s smile falter when Johnny took the baby into his arms. He knew his boyfriend would be upset but judging by his glare it was much worse than he thought. He was pulled from his thoughts when Johnny introduced himself as “Uncle J.” Even though he had heard it a million times already, it still made him smile.

“He’s so precious, Yuta,” Johnny praised, “I’m so happy for you and Tennie.” His heart panged as he said it. If he hadn’t managed to win back Ten and Yuta’s affections in the last six months, he certainly had no chance of winning them back now. Even though he knew that was the likely outcome, it still hurt more than expected.

Yuta took a moment to make sure he heard Johnny properly before responding. “Oh, thanks Johnny,” he said slowly. He dropped his voice even more, “and, um, thank you for everything you’ve done for us, and for me. I, uh, I really appreciate it.” It wasn’t a lie. Johnny had been around for some of the lowest points in his pregnancy when Ten couldn’t be and he wasn’t quite sure what he would have done without the older man.

“Of course,” Johnny said, “anything for you guys.” He really would do anything for Yuta and Ten, even if it meant leaving them behind.

Yuta let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He settled back in bed, finally content with Johnny holding the baby. In fact he could almost get used to it, but he didn’t want to push anything. He was absolutely wiped and definitely still wasn’t thinking entirely straight. He looked up when he felt a light hand on his shoulder and looked at up Ten. “Doing okay?” the younger man asked worriedly. Yuta nodded and mustered a small smile.

Johnny could tell by glancing up at him that Ten wasn’t happy with him holding the baby. When Taeyong and Kun stepped over, he easily passed Jaemin over to them and stood up, backing out of the way.

Yuta sighed sadly when Johnny backed away but he was glad that Kun and Taeyong would have a chance to hold him. Kun took the small baby from Johnny and cradled him in his arms carefully. He was even smaller than Jisung which didn’t seem possible until now. “Oh my God, he’s absolutely adorable,” he gushed.

Taeyong bent down and gave Yuta a one armed hugged. “He’s finally here,” he said quietly, crouching down next to his best friend.

Yuta hugged Taeyong back as best he could. "He is and I'm so relieved. Every day just got harder and harder and the last few weeks...I'm just so happy he's here and that he's okay," he said quietly. He blinked his eyes quickly trying to rid them of the tears that had gathered in the corners. Everything was just so overwhelming and it still hadn't even fully sunk it that it was all finally over.

Taeyong sat on the bed and wiped Yuta’s eyes with his thumbs. “I promise, it’s all so, so worth it. Even when it’s two in the morning and he won’t go back to sleep, you won’t want to trade it for the world.” He knew that Yuta and Ten were going to be amazing parents.

Yuta nodded in what he hoped came off as understanding. He would happily take sleepless nights if it meant everything would be okay with his baby. "Tae, do you want to hold him?" Kun asked slowly. He wanted to make sure his fiancé had a chance to hold the baby before they had to leave.

“Of course,” Taeyong said, opening his arms to take the baby, “come here, cutie. Oh, Yuta, he’s beautiful.”

Yuta mustered a small smile. "Thanks, Yongie," he whispered. Once the baby was in Taeyong's arms, Kun rounded the bed and went to stand by Johnny. Yuta looked absolutely exhausted and he knew the older man needed to rest soon.

Taeyong only held the baby for a few minutes before passing him off to Ten. “Let us know if you need anything, okay?” he said as he hugged Yuta again tightly. He was so proud of his best friend.

After bidding goodbye one last time to Ten and Yuta, Kun regretfully made his leave from the room. “You know, I kinda miss when Jisung was that small,” he commented quietly.

"It's so amazing to watch him grow up though," Taeyong said, taking Kun's hand and leaning his head on his shoulder. It took a minute before he realized that Johnny hadn't left with them. He hoped everything would be okay between him and the other two.

Kun hummed in agreement. “Speaking of the little bugger, we have to go rescue Taeil from him and Chenle,” he said lightly.

Taeyong laughed softly. He didn't really think Taeil had to worry about Jisung so much as he did about Chenle and Jeno. "Yeah, let's go," he said, pulling Kun toward the elevators.


	33. Chapter 33

The next few weeks blended together and soon rather than later the apartment was packed up into a multitude of moving boxes. They only had one more night in the apartment and it was finally sinking in that Kun would be leaving home for the second time.

"You doing okay?" Taeyong said as he climbed into bed, having just gotten Chenle to sleep. Kun looked like he was thinking way too hard.

Kun was pulled from his thoughts when Taeyong came back into the room. “Huh? Oh yeah I’m fine. Just nervous,” he mumbled.

Taeyong settled against Kun's side. "I know it's scary," he murmured, "but it's going to be good for us."

Kun nodded and wrapped his arm around Taeyong. “I’m glad I don’t have to do this alone again,” he whispered. While he had absolutely no regrets about moving to Korea, the experience was nerve racking and he was grateful to have his family by his side this time.

"You'll never have to do anything like this alone again," Taeyong reassured his fiancé. He never planned on leaving Kun or their sons.

Kun pulled Taeyong closer so he could kiss his temple gently. He was incredibly grateful for his fiancé. In a matter of five minutes, Taeyong had managed to calm him down from the worries that had plaguing him the whole day. Now that he was calmer he let his mind wander through the years worth of memories the apartment held.

"I'm gonna miss it here," Taeyong said quietly. He had lived in this apartment for a little over a decade and had had a lot of good and bad times here. It felt like the end of an era.

"I am too," Kun said. It was almost weird to think back over the past several years. He had spent most of his time in Korea in this apartment and had always assumed they would stay here forever. He just had to keep reminding himself that the move was going to be worth it and he would always have his family by his side. "Let's try and get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

The early hours of the next morning found the four of them slumped in the waiting area of their gate at their airport. Jisung was fast asleep in his carrier and Chenle was on Taeyong’s lap, halfway to the same place. “Kun-ah,” Taeyong whined, “go get me a bagel.”

“Will you be needing anything else, Your Highness?” Kun asked teasingly as he pushed himself up from the chair. He was doing his best to distract himself from the inevitable.

“Maybe a water bottle or two?” Taeyong suggested. He had never flown first class before and wasn’t sure what they would be given, so he wanted to be prepared.

"Sure thing. I'll be right back," Kun said. He walked through the airport terminal until he found a small café that had various breakfast items. After grabbing Taeyong's bagel, a few water bottles, and a muffin for himself, he headed back to where his family was sitting. "Now before I hand over your bagel, I believe payment is in order," he said as he sat back down in his seat.

“I don’t believe payment was discussed,” Taeyong said, playing along. He knew what Kun was looking for, but he always played hard to get.

Kun chuckled and kept a tight grip on the bag of food. "After all these years, I thought you would know what favors would cost you," he said, feigning offense.

“What is it you want?” Taeyong teased, “my first born son?” He adjusted Chenle in his arms as he said it.

Kun's eyes widened slightly. "Mhm, not quite, although that is tempting," he mused, "don't forget your bagel is getting colder as we speak." The bag was still burning hot against his thigh, but all bets had been off from the moment he sat down. He watched Taeyong closely, trying to keep as serious of a look as possible, but it wasn't going well.

“How about the second born?” Taeyong said. He had been gently rocking Jisung with his foot since they’d sat down, keeping his fast asleep.

"He is adorable, but I would hate to risk waking him up for the sake of a bagel," Kun said, "oh well, it seems like the only way for me to get what I want is to take it myself." He leaned over to place a swift kiss against Taeyong's cheek before reaching out for Chenle. "I guess it  _ is _ only fair that I take your first born so you can eat breakfast."

“That or you can feed me,” Taeyong said with a laugh. He wasn’t sure that he’d be able to get Chenle detached from his shirt.

Kun chuckled quietly. “I think I can manage that,” he said, reaching into the bag. He ripped off a small piece of bagel and offered it to his fiancé.

Taeyong managed to extract an arm to take hold of the piece of bagel. “Thanks, babe,” he said with a small smile.

Kun didn't surrender the piece of bagel immediately. "Don't start getting any ideas that I'll forget about the lack of proper payment for my troubles," he said jokingly. After another moment he finally released his hostage and reached into the bag to rip off another small piece of bagel for Taeyong.

“Of course,” Taeyong said seriously, “the first born son. You’ll have him on the plane.”

Kun chuckled to himself. "Let's just hope he stays asleep or I'll be promptly returning him," he said. In all seriousness, he was a little bit worried that the toddler would wake up with a lot of energy and no way to expel it in the small cabin, but he was more worried about the baby. If Jisung woke up and was inconsolable that could make the flight much less relaxing for his family and the other passengers.

“And that’s why we sprung for first class and a little more room,” Taeyong said. He knew there was no way they could keep Chenle and Jisung quietly entertained for fourteen hours, but he’d be damned if they wouldn’t try.

Kun nodded and looked down at Jisung, who was still happily asleep. He offered the new piece of bagel to Taeyong before reaching into the bag to grab his muffin. It wasn't much longer before their flight was called to begin boarding. "It's now or never," he commented quietly.

Taeyong hoisted Chenle into his arms, clenching both of their boarding passes in his hand, and waited for Kun to grab the baby when they called first class. Here went nothing.

Kun walked slowly to his seat; half because of caution with the carrier and half because of reluctance. It was nice to be able to stretch out during the flight, but that still didn't take away from the fact that they were actually leaving today. In a small act of selfishness, Kun took Jisung out of his carrier and laid the sleeping baby against his shoulder for comfort. He stared out the window, trying to memorize everything that he could see.

Taeyong settled Chenle in his seat for a moment to stow the carrier and diaper bag. He pulled Chenle's blanket out of the bag and covered him with it before buckling him in the seat. They had needed to buy a seat for the toddler, but not one for the baby, so Taeyong hoped he stayed asleep while the plane was taking off.

Kun heard Jisung start to whine a few minutes later and he tore his eyes away from the window. He began to hum softly and rub Jisung's back, lulling the baby back to sleep.

Taeyong reached over to pet Chenle’s hair, making sure the boy stayed asleep as the rest of the passengers finished boarding. He finished his bagel in the meantime and started feeding Kun bits of muffin while his hands were preoccupied with the baby.

Kun only ate about half of the muffin before politely refusing anymore. His stomach was in knots from how nervous he was and he simply couldn’t eat anymore. Too soon for his liking, the plane was taking off and he focused on making sure Jisung stayed asleep.

Taeyong reached over and held Kun tightly. He could tell how anxious his fiancé was and wanted to make the process as easy as he could for him. There was no going back now.

Kun sighed softly and shifted Jisung so he could support the baby with one hand. The other found it’s way to Taeyong’s and he threaded their fingers together. They were nearly to the peak of their ascent when Jisung blinked his eyes open and let out a muffled whine. “Oh, baby, are your ears bothering you? It’s going to be okay. They’ll feel better soon,” he murmured soothingly. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough for the baby and he continued to whine unhappily.+

“Once we’re at altitude, I’ll get one of his chewing toys from the bag,” Taeyong said. They couldn’t give the baby gum, obviously, so it was the next best thing.

Kun nodded. “That’ll be good,” he said. The poor baby was desperately trying to hide his face in Kun’s neck, but it wasn’t helping. He was growing more and more worried as Jisung continued to whine loudly. He continued to hum, hoping it get the baby calm enough to avoid a full blown meltdown.

“Try massaging behind his ears?” Taeyong suggested. He had no idea if that would have any effect, but it at least might distract the baby.

Kun let go of Taeyong’s hand and gently began to rub behind Jisung’s ears. “It’s okay, Sungie. I’m right here and it’ll be over soon,” he said quietly. He kept his eyes glued to the seatbelt light waiting for it to click off.

Taeyong was distracted by a whine next to him. Chenle was finally waking up and was rubbing his ears with an expression of discomfort on his face. “Baba, my ears hurt,” he mumbled, turning and hiding his face in Taeyong’s side.

Kun stopped rubbing Jisung’s ears for a moment to reach into his jacket pocket. He was met with a loud whine of protest from the baby. He kissed the top of the baby’s head and wrestled the pack of gum from his pocket and handed it to Taeyong. Even though he didn’t need the gum, he wanted to have it on him incase Taeyong or Chenle needed it.

Taeyong took the gum gratefully. “Lele, I’m gonna give you something to chew on but you have to promise not to swallow it, okay?” he said quietly.

Chenle nodded and reached for the gum as much as his seatbelt would allow him. “Just like last time, Lele,” Kun added as he went back to rubbing Jisung’s ears. The baby was finally calming down and Kun hoped he would fall back asleep soon.

Taeyong broke the stick of gum in half and handed it to Chenle. Hopefully, if he did accidentally swallow it, it would be small enough to not choke him.

Chenle snatched the piece of gum from Taeyong and popped it into his mouth. He chewed the gum like his life depended on it. When the seat belt light went off a few minutes later, Chenle desperately clawed at the buckle but couldn’t open it. “Baba,” he whined as he reached toward Taeyong instead.

“Hold on, babe, you’re gonna hurt yourself,” Taeyong said. He reached over and undid Chenle’s buckle before lifting the boy over into his lap.

Chenle flung his arms around Taeyong’s neck and buried his face in his father’s shoulder. Kun sighed sadly and reached over to brush his son’s hair gently with his fingers. This was going to be a long flight.

Taeyong grimaced and clenched his jaw to pop his own ears. “Feel better, Lele?” he asked gently.

Chenle nodded against Taeyong’s shoulder. “Hey, Lele, look at the clouds,” Kun said, scratching the boy’s back gently. Chenle kept his cheek pressed against Taeyong, but turned his head so he could look out the window.

Taeyong couldn’t help it. Between Chenle’s steady heartbeat against his own and the constant sound of the air outside, he found himself dozing off not long after.

Kun smiled when he noticed Taeyong start to fall asleep. Chenle had his thumb stuck in his mouth and was staring out the window intently. “When Sungie wakes up you can come sit on my lap so you can see better,” Kun said. Chenle’s eyes lit up, but he didn’t say anything.

When Taeyong woke up a few hours later, he found Kun to be covered in children. With a groan, he sat forward and popped the ache out of his back. “I can take Jisung,” he mumbled tiredly.

“I’m okay if you want to get a little more sleep,” Kun said. Both boys had been pretty quiet through the flight so far. The most noise had been from Chenle excitedly pointing out the shapes he saw in the clouds.

“You are drowning in babies, Kunnie,” Taeyong said, “plus, he probably needs to eat soon.” That was very much a two handed job.

Kun carefully passed Jisung over to Taeyong, but not without stealing a butterfly kiss. Now that Kun’s entire lap was free, Chenle made himself right at home and stretched out a bit. He laid on Kun’s chest, but made sure he could still see out the window.

Taeyong took Jisung in his arms, smiling as the baby blinked up at him. “Hi there, bug,” he said softly, “you hungry?”

“Is someone sleepy?” Kun asked when he saw Chenle’s eyes begin to droop. The toddler adamantly shook his head, but Kun had a funny feeling he’d be asleep within the hour. He chuckled and rubbed his son’s back gently. His eyes flicked to Jisung and a smile pulled at his lips as he watched the baby stare intently at Taeyong.

The baby actually didn’t seem all too concerned with anything, and it was another hour before he was scheduled to be fed again, so Taeyong decided to wait and instead let Jisung grasp onto his finger.

Kun reached over and rubbed Jisung's cheek with the back of his finger. "Enjoying the flight, munchkin?" he asked softly. He was actually very happy with how calm the baby had been once they had gotten in the air. Hopefully the rest of the flight stayed that way. By the time he turned his attention back to Chenle, the toddler was asleep again.

It almost felt like they were in a little bubble. With the boys being so quiet and Taeyong and Kun both being so tired and calm, there was almost an air of peaceful isolation. Until a stewardess came over with their lunches, that is.

Kun carefully shifted Chenle on his lap so he could take his tray of food. The toddler whined loudly when he was disturbed. "I'm sorry, baby," Kun whispered, "lunch is here; do you want to try eating something?" Chenle shook his head and resettled himself back in the middle of Kun's lap, wrapping his arm around his neck. "Lele, you can stay on my lap, but you have to sit to one side." He received an even louder whine in response as the toddler tucked his face into Kun's neck.

Taeyong moved the baby to sit upright on his lap, gently pushing his hands away when he reached for the tray of food. “No, silly, that’s not for you,” he teased, “maybe in a few more months.”

Kun sighed softly and sat back in his chair. While he was hungry, he was much more concerned with avoiding a meltdown than eating. He turned to look at Jisung, who was the most awake he had been all flight. "Looks like someone's excited for lunch," he commented quietly.

“I think he’s just happy to finally be upright,” Taeyong said as he munched on a French fry. “Is Lele giving you trouble?”

Kun smiled fondly as he watched the baby. "I think he's just exhausted. You know how clingy he gets when he's tired," he said. His hand slid absentmindedly up and down the toddler's back, who was already fast asleep again.

“We can switch once I eat if you don’t mind feeding ‘Sung,” Taeyong suggested. It wouldn’t take him long to finish the lunch he’d been given; Kun’s would probably still be warm.

"Yeah we can do that. I just want to avoid a meltdown at all costs," Kun said tiredly. He just hoped the toddler would be too tired to resist being moved when they tried to switch.

Taeyong ate the rest of his lunch quickly, even letting Jisung have a tiny bit of his mashed potato. Once he was done, he handed Kun the baby and stood up to maneuver Chenle into his own arms.

Kun took Jisung into his free arm and tried to pry Chenle off of his neck with the other. Unfortunately the toddler was less than happy with this and clung onto Kun tightly. "It's okay, Lele. Can you sit with Taeyong baba for a few minutes while I feed Sung? You can come sit with me after," he bargained.

“C’mere, Lele,” Taeyong said gently, “we can cuddle and take a nap together, how does that sound?”

Chenle whined again and Kun almost wondered if it was even worth it. "You're gonna be able to go right back to sleep, baby, I promise," he said. Luckily, Chenle picked his head up at that. Kun sighed sadly when he saw the toddler's tired expression, but loosened his grip from his neck regardless.

Taeyong finally managed to get Chenle into his own arms and settled right back into his seat with him. He leaned the seat back, letting Chenle laying sprawled out on his chest.

Kun decided to feed Jisung right away, not wanting to risk the baby getting cranky. He knew his food would be cold by the time he touched it, but that was the least of his worries. At this point he was so tired, he almost wondered if it would be more beneficial to take a nap instead. Once Jisung was fed and burped, he decided against eating and sat the baby on his lap so he could stare out the window a little longer before either of them fell asleep.

Chenle was right back asleep as soon as he got comfortable on Taeyong’s chest, which meant Taeyong was stuck until the boy woke up. He supposed he might as well take another nap too and let himself doze off again.

Kun felt his eyes begin to droop so he laid Jisung against his chest and happily fell asleep. He had no idea what time it was when he woke up, but it was pitch dark outside his window. He carefully reached for the cup of water on his tray and hoped he didn't wake Jisung.

Taeyong was surprised by how much time had passed since he had fallen asleep. Based on a timer he’d set on his phone, they only had another hour left of the flight, which meant they should theoretically be in real beds within two. They had gotten a hotel room near the airport, because they would be landing in the early hours of Saturday and couldn’t meet the realtor until Monday morning; he had planned a day just to combat the jet lag.

"What time is it?" Kun asked groggily when he set down the water. As much as he dreaded finally arriving in LA, he wasn't quite sure how much longer he could sit on the plane.

“Midnight, LA time, I think,” Taeyong said, “or close to. We have about an hour left on the flight.” As he said it, the seatbelt sign came on overhead and the captain announced their impending descension into Los Angeles. Taeyong painstakingly pried Chenle off of him and buckled the boy into his own seat.

Kun nodded and carefully buckled his own seatbelt. His chest tightened when Chenle let out a pitiful whine. "It's okay, baby," he murmured, offering his free arm for the toddler to cling on to, "not much longer and we'll be there I promise."

Taeyong fixed his seat and his tray before leaning over to shove Chenle’s blanket and Jisung’s toy back into the diaper bag.

Before they knew it, they had finally landed. When the seatbelt light clicked off again, Kun unbuckled himself and settled Jisung in his carrier. As quickly as he could, he unbuckled Chenle as well and scooped the toddler into his arms. 

Taeyong hoisted the diaper bag over his shoulder before picking up the baby in his carrier. They were able to deplane fairly quickly and were soon at the baggage claim, waiting on their suitcases.

The taxi ride was spent in silence and Kun stared out the window, already noticing the vast differences. He was incredibly relieved when they finally reached the hotel. Not bothering to try and change Chenle, he laid the toddler in the middle of the big bed. He knew the boy was absolutely wiped out considering he didn't whine this time.

Taeyong was about ready to collapse by the time they made it to the hotel. He sluggishly got Jisung changed and ready for bed while Kun set up the crib that the hotel had provided for them. Fortunately, the baby went down easily and Taeyong was able to turn his focus to Chenle. He changed the boy into pajamas and settled him in the middle of the bed, all while he was knocked out cold. Once that was done, he flopped down next to him, not bothering to change himself before dozing off.

Kun forced himself to get changed before he climbed into bed. He wrapped his arm around Chenle and pulled the toddler against he side. He knew the jet lag would be worse when he woke up, but he was too tired to care. Not more than a few minutes later he was fast asleep, his grip on Chenle never loosening.

It felt like it had only been a few minutes when Taeyong was woken up by Jisung crying. He got out of bed with groan and picked the baby up, carrying him into the bathroom to try and muffle the noise. "What's up, bug?" he asked tiredly.

Kun's eyes flew open when he heard Jisung crying, but Taeyong was already halfway out of bed. Chenle whined quietly against his side, so he quickly turned his attention back to the toddler. "Go back to sleep, Lele. Everything's okay," he murmured soothingly.

Taeyong changed Jisung's diaper, but it didn't seem to help. He warmed up a bottle and fed him, but that didn't do it either. Jisung just couldn't sleep, so Taeyong took to pacing the length of the bathroom with the baby in his arms.

Chenle calmed down quickly, but the same obviously couldn't be said for Jisung. Kun rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb the toddler, and walked to the bathroom. "What's going on, baby?" he asked quietly when he poked his head into the room.

Taeyong was so tired that his eyes were watering from the lights in the bathroom. "He won't go back to sleep," he mumbled tiredly, "I can go down in the lobby so he doesn't keep you awake."

"No, no," Kun said immediately, "I'll take him. You go lay down with Chenle so he doesn't think he's alone if he wakes up." Taeyong looked absolutely exhausted and Kun didn't want his fiancé to end up all the way in the lobby with a crying baby.

"I've got him, Kunnie," Taeyong said, fighting a yawn, "you should go back to bed."

Kun sighed softly and reached out his arms. "Babe, you can barely stand. I'll take him for a little while, it's okay," he said gently.

Taeyong really didn't have the energy to protest. He handed the baby off to his fiancé and kissed his cheek before returning to bed.

"Come here, Sungie," he said as he laid the wailing baby over his shoulder, "someone's tired, hm?" The only answer he was met with was another loud cry. He paced back and force, bouncing slightly, and began to hum. After a few minutes of that not working, Kun started singing softly, hoping that would help calm the baby down. He would hate to have to carry the sobbing baby through the halls of the hotel.

Taeyong had the presence of mind to at least shuck off his jeans before he fell asleep. His head hit the pillow and his hand laid on Chenle's back. The boy whined in his sleep and pressed close to his father.

Kun was glad that Jisung was finally beginning to calm down. That luck ran out when he went to lay the baby back in his crib. He was less than excited about that idea and was sure Kun knew about his disapproval by the shrill cry he let out. Sighing sadly, Kun held the baby against himself again and brought him back into the bathroom.

The next time Taeyong woke up, feeling significantly better, he found that he was alone in bed. Kun was passed out in the armchair on the other side of the room with Jisung asleep on his chest, and Chenle was on the floor coloring. He wondered how long it had taken his fiancé to get the baby back asleep.

When Kun blinked his eyes open, Jisung was still fast asleep. He rubbed the baby's back gently and was about to close his eyes again when he noticed Taeyong was awake. "Good...morning? Afternoon? Good whatever it is," Kun mumbled, still half asleep. He had no idea what time it was and it was throwing him off completely.

Taeyong grabbed his phone off the nightstand. "Afternoon," he mumbled, "barely." It was just past noon, and his stomach rumbled right on cue.

"Do you want to see if there's a restaurant nearby that will deliver to the hotel?" Kun suggested. The more he was waking up, the more hungry he was getting, not really having ate that much on the plane and he was not fond of the idea of trying to wrangle both boys out of the hotel room.

"There's probably a pizza place," Taeyong mumbled, rubbing his eyes, "but will I be able to place an order is the real question."

"It's good practice, Kun said supportively, "worst case scenario I'm sure some places have online ordering we can use." It was scary being in a place where neither of them were even close to fluent yet, but they would make it work.

It wasn't even his own accent that Taeyong was worried about. He knew what phrases he needed to say, but he was worried that, if the person who answered the phone had a strong accent as well, neither of them would be able to understand each other. As much as he knew he needed the practice, he was much too tired for it today, so he pulled up the closest place with online ordering.

"We'll get there one day," Kun said. His hand continued to rub up and down Jisung's back and he looked down just in time to catch the baby yawn. "Hi there. Are you feeling better, bug?" he asked, only getting a few blinks as an answer. Chenle picked his head up and promptly put down his crayons so he could bounce over to the chair when he realized Jisung was awake.

"Lele, what kind of pizza do you want?" Taeyong asked as he clicked through the options. The place seemed to be a chain with a lot of locations in the city, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Pineapple?" the toddler asked, spinning around to face Taeyong. "Wow, you really have the poor kid brainwashed," Kun joked, ruffling his son's hair fondly. Jisung wasn't too happy that the attention was turned away from him so he tapped a small fist against Kun's chest and let out a resounding whine.

Taeyong smiled and nodded. "He's a smart kid," he said as he went through the online ordering. Once the order was in, he set his phone down, ringer on, and scooped Chenle up from the floor. "How did you sleep, baby?"

"Good," Chenle said with a giggle as he buried his face in Taeyong's neck. Meanwhile Kun had turned his attention back to Jisung. "Can I help you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "was that you trying to tell me you don't want pineapple on your pizza or that you just want some attention?" Of course the only answer he was met with was a wide smile from the baby and that was more than enough for Kun.

"What were you coloring?" Taeyong asked, loosening his arms in case Chenle wanted to grab his coloring book.

"Dinosaurs!" Chenle answered excitedly. He wiggled out of Taeyong's arms so he could grab his book. He was careful to not lose his page as he bounced back over to Taeyong. "Look!" he said, hoisting the book above his head.

Taeyong smiled and took the book to look at it. "You did such a good job, Lele," he said, helping the boy back up onto his lap, "do they have names?"

"This one is Rex," Chenle said, pointing to a large dinosaur taking up nearly the whole page, "you can name this one." His finger slid to a much smaller dinosaur in the corner of the page.

"Oh, I don't know, Lele," Taeyong said, tapping his chin, "I think Kun baba wants to name that one."

“What do you think, Sungie? Got any ideas for a name?” Kun asked, bouncing his leg. The baby squealed loudly, more in response to the bouncing than the question, but it was good enough for Kun. “You heard him,” he said, turning towards Chenle and Taeyong, “Rex Jr. it is.”

Chenle giggled and slid off of Taeyong's lap to run over to Kun and Jisung. "Thanks, 'Sungie," he said, standing up on his tiptoes to kiss his baby brother on the cheek.

Kun smiled softly and watched Chenle bounce back over to his coloring book to finish the page he had started. He didn’t realize quite how hungry he was until they finally had their pizza. After making sure Jisung was fed and burped, he laid the baby on his stomach on his blanket on the floor.

Taeyong laid on the stomach on the bed, watching his sons play on the floor. Chenle had finished his picture and was dangling a toy in front of Jisung.

Once Kun had eaten, he slid onto the bed and sat next to Taeyong. His nails dragged lightly back and forth across his fiancé’s back. Jisung had pushed himself onto hands and was trying to figure out how he could reach for the toy.

Taeyong had to suppress a groan. Kun's fingers felt nice on his back, but he didn't want to disturb the boys. Jisung was rocking back and forth, trying to grab at the toy. "They're so cute," he mumbled.

“They really are. Our perfect boys,” Kun said proudly, “I still can’t believe how big Sung is getting. It feels like we just brought him home a few days ago.” It felt like everything was moving much too fast and Kun was worried if he blinked he would miss something.

"It's all gone so fast," Taeyong agreed, "he's grown so much, it's unbelievable." It was still so crazy to him that he had created this perfect little human.

Kun nodded even though Taeyong's eyes weren't on him. "And Chenle has been as perfect as we could have hoped for and more," Kun gushed. He really loved both of his boys so much.

"He's grown so much too," Taeyong said, "two amazing boys. I can't believe we're so lucky."

Kun found a knot in Taeyong's shoulder and shifted so he could work it out with the heel of his palm. "Me either," Kun murmured, "I just hoped they adjust well. I know Jisung won't remember Korea, but Chenle will and I really don't want him to get homesick." He didn't know what he would do if any of his boys didn't like their new home.

"I think he'll be okay once we get settled and he's able to make some friends," Taeyong said. Although their house was in the suburbs, it was in a predominantly Korean area, so hopefully they would be able to make friends quickly.

Kun smiled at the thought of Chenle running through their backyard with a little friend or two, and Jisung when he gets bigger. "Do you want to do something for Halloween this year?" he asked, "it's really big here and I think the boys would have a lot of fun.”

"We should be settled by then, I would think," Taeyong said, "and trick or treating would definitely help the boys settle in. I don't see why not."

Kun smiled widely. "Oh, Tae, it's gonna be so much fun," he said excitedly. He had been looking for anything to settle his nerves and this was the perfect distraction. His mind was now swimming with different ideas of what they could dress the boys up as.

"If you try to dress one of them up as one of those little yellow things, I swear to God, Kun, I'll disown you," Taeyong mumbled, grunting in pain as Kun pushed his knot a certain way.

Kun pouted. At least he still had some time to convince his fiancé. "But, babe, that would be so cute! Just think of Sungie in a yellow shirt and some overalls and a little pair of goggles! Oh it would be absolutely adorable," he rambled.

"Absolutely not," Taeyong said, "blocked, reported, unfollowed." He had to prevent a smile from tugging at his mouth. Jisung would be cute with little goggles, but that was about as far as he would go.

"Wait, wait, wait, don't get too hasty," Kun said quickly, "you never know, you might  _ love _ the costume idea. Just trust me now and thank me later." He knew Taeyong wouldn't budge, but he wasn't worried considering he already had a backup plan ready to go.

Taeyong simply rolled his eyes fondly. "Keep up with this massage and I might consider it," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

That was more than enough for Kun. He tried to be gentle, but he couldn't help it sometimes; the knot was being stubborn and he didn't want it to get any worse. The boys were playing relatively quietly, with the occasional squeal or giggle coming from them when Jisung managed to snag the toy.

Taeyong nearly fell asleep as Kun massaged the knots out of his back. The only thing that kept him awake was the moments of pain from when he pushed too deep or too hard.

Kun continued massaging Taeyong's back until his hands started to cramp up. He leaned down and placed a gently kiss to the back of his fiancé's neck before letting his nails drag across his shoulders like he was originally doing. The boys had given up on the toy and Chenle had gone back to his coloring. He had offered Jisung a crayon, but the baby was more interested in examining it than attempting to color with it.

Taeyong had peeked his eyes open when the giggling died down and was watching the boys contently. "Lele, don't let him eat the crayon, okay?" he warned. He knew the baby would try and put it in his mouth at some point.

"Okay, baba!" Chenle said. He dropped his own crayon and focused his attention on Jisung. Sure enough no more than a few minutes later, Jisung decided it was snack time and raised the crayon to his mouth. "No, Sungie, you can't eat that," Chenle said grabbing the crayon and trying to take it out of Jisung's hand. The baby yelled loudly and yanked the crayon back.

"Lele, just take it from him gently. It's okay if he gets upset," Taeyong said. He knew Kun would step in if it got too out of hand.

Chenle reached for the crayon again and Jisung wasn't having any of it. He yelled again and looked nowhere near ready to let it go. "Oh, Jisungie, Lele's just making sure you don't turn coloring time into snack time," Kun said, knowing it wouldn't help in the slightest. What also didn't help was Chenle getting frustrated at the baby. He tried to be gentle, but Jisung wasn't listening. With a huff he pulled the crayon from his brother's hand, which caused the baby to burst into tears and wail loudly.

Taeyong sighed as Kun pulled away to take care of the crying baby. "Lele, why don't we do something different for a little while?" he suggested as he sat up, "do you want me to read you a book?"

Kun scooped up the baby and paced around the room, whispering quietly to him. Chenle sniffed loudly, but didn't answer Taeyong. Instead he climbed onto the bed and wordlessly crawled into his father's lap.

Taeyong kept a hold on Chenle as settled back against the pillows. He could tell the boy was upset about making Jisung cry. "Sungie's gonna be okay," he said gently, "remember, this is how he tells us when something's wrong."

Chenle sniffed again and snuggled closer. "I'm sorry, baba," he mumbled miserably. He really didn't mean to make Jisung cry. The baby wasn't supposed to eat the crayon and the only way to make sure that wouldn't happen was by taking it.

"It's okay, Lele, I'm not upset," Taeyong said, "Jisungie just doesn't like stuff being taken away from him, but he has no other way to say that."

"But he can't eat the crayon," Chenle whined. He didn't understand why Jisung would even want to eat the crayon in the first place; they didn't taste very good.

"He doesn't know that," Taeyong explained, "Jisungie puts things in his mouth to try and figure out what exactly they are. We have to stop him so he doesn't accidentally eat something bad for him, but he gets upset when we do that."

Chenle let out an exasperated sigh. "Why is Jisungie so confusing?" he asked seriously. Kun had to hold back a chuckle at that. He had managed to calm the baby down by grabbing him one of his toys he can snack on to his heart's content.

Taeyong laughed softly. "We're just as confusing to him as he is to us," he said, "he'll get less confusing as he grows and learns."

Chenle was satisfied with that. While he wasn't as upset anymore, he still wanted to take full advantage of the cuddling. He gripped onto Taeyong's shirt tightly and repositioned himself so he was more comfortable. Kun walked over to the bed and climbed in. He sat Jisung up between his legs and let him play with the plastic rings.

"See? Jisungie's all better," Taeyong said, adjusting Chenle to sit more comfortably in his lap. He didn't mind the boy being clingy so long as he was behaving.

Usually the boys would play tug of war with the rings, but Chenle didn't want to risk grabbing them. He was more than happy to stay curled up on Taeyong's lap. Kun reached over and smoothed out Chenle's hair. His fingers slid to the boy's neck and his shoulders immediately shot up. He giggled quietly despite Kun barely doing anything. "Is someone  _ ticklish _ ?" Kun asked dramatically.

Taeyong smiled as he watched Kun and Chenle play around, until he got a small elbow to the stomach. He grunted and readjusted Chenle. "Careful, Lele," he said with a cough.

"Sorry, baba," Chenle said with a pout. "Why don't you kiss it and make it better?" Kun prompted. Chenle giggled and shook his head. "No? Why not?" Kun asked with a chuckle. "That's silly!" Chenle replied. "So?" Kun countered teasingly. Chenle looked at Kun and then up at Taeyong. Still giggling he gently kissed the spot he had accidentally elbowed Taeyong. "All better!" he announced happily.

"Yep, all better!" Taeyong said with a smile. He ruffled Chenle's hair and kissed his forehead.

Chenle beamed happily and threw his arms around Taeyong's neck. Meanwhile, Jisung had accidentally dropped his rings on the other side of Kun's leg and was struggling to reach them. "Here ya go, baby," Kun said, leaning down so he could grab the rings and hand them back to his son. By the victorious yell Jisung let out, one would think he had gotten the rings himself.

"Lele, are you excited to go to our new house on Monday?" Taeyong asked. It was certainly going to be hectic. Since they couldn't really take any furniture overseas, they had purchased everything new and all of it was being delivered on Monday. The other things they had decided to take, like linens and knickknacks, had been shipped over in boxes a week ago and were currently in a storage unit, waiting to be picked up. Monday was going to be a crazy day, but Taeyong was excited.

Chenle nodded vigorously. He had been told the house was bigger and that there was even a backyard! He couldn't wait to explore everything. Maybe the house would even have room for new toys.

"We have to get up really early on Monday morning, so you have to be good and go to bed when we tell you tonight and tomorrow, okay?" Taeyong asked. Chenle wasn't usually bad about going to bed, but he had his moments.

"Okay, baba, I promise," he said sincerely. Kun smiled fondly. For being just shy of four, Chenle was truly an incredible kid. Of course him and Jisung both had their fair share of moments, but they were kids and it was completely expected. He caught Jisung yawning and he picked the baby up to lay against his chest, hoping he would sleep for a couple hours before it was time to eat dinner.

"Why don't we take a nap for a little bit and then we can go find dinner?" Taeyong suggested. He wasn't sure about Chenle or Kun, but he was still exhausted.

“That sounds like a perfect idea,” Kun said. He forced himself out of bed and waited for Jisung to fall asleep before laying him in the crib. After that he crawled back into bed, happy to get some more sleep.

Chenle reluctantly clambered off of Taeyong's lap to lay between him and Kun, although he stayed clinging to Taeyong's shirt. Taeyong leaned over his son's head to kiss his fiancé chastely.

Kun hummed contently and laid down comfortably. “Goodnight, boys,” he mumbled tiredly, already half asleep. Even though they were only taking a nap he still liked to say goodnight.

"Night, baba," Chenle mumbled, pressing his face into Taeyong's shirt. **  
**


	34. Chapter 34

By the time Monday morning rolled around, Kun was a ball of nerves. They were finally on the way to the house and while he was incredibly excited, he couldn’t help feeling nervous. He knew it was radiating off of him because Jisung would whine whenever he was in his arms.

Kun’s nervousness was so contagious that Taeyong had made him sit in front with the realtor while he sat in the back of the man’s SUV with the boys. The first delivery was scheduled for nine, so they were heading over to unlock, look around, and make a plan before anyone got there. The realtor, a man named Brian Kang, had blocked out his entire day to help them navigate the deliveries and, subsequently, the English language. He lived in the neighborhood as well, so he had offered to help them arrange a housewarming party once they were settled. He was a godsend, really.

Kun stared out the window for most of the drive to the house. He was excited and nervous, which translated to him drumming his fingers on this leg for the duration of the short ride. He wanted to start a conversation with the realtor, but the only English sentence he had been able to produce so far was "thank you for your help."  

Taeyong gasped when they finally pulled into the driveway. The house was even more beautiful in person. It was in a cul de sac off the main road of a secluded development, with a sizable front and back yard. “Lele, look, we’re here,” he said.

Chenle stared at the house with wide eyes. He pulled on the handle of the door when the SUV came to a stop, but couldn't quite get it open. "Hang on, baby, I'll help you," Kun said. He slipped out of the car and slid the back door open. After unbuckling the wiggling toddler, he hoisted him out of the car and set him down. Chenle clung to Kun's legs, not quite sure what to make of everything now that he was outside.

Taeyong lifted the baby in his carrier out of the car and stood on the curb in shock. This was all actually happening. It was all real. The realtor held a set of keys out to him. “All yours,” he said.

"Wanna go see inside, Lele?" Kun asked. The toddler nodded and in a sudden burst of confidence took off toward the front door. Kun smiled fondly and waited at the front of the car for Taeyong.

Taeyong gripped the keys tightly in one hand and Jisung in the other as he started up the driveway toward the door. He set the baby down as he unlocked the door with shaking hands and let Chenle loose inside.

Chenle eagerly pushed the door open and only took a few steps into the house before he stopped dead in his tracks. It felt like he would get lost if he went any further into the house. "Baba, where's my room?" he asked, turning back around to face Taeyong. 

“Let’s go look together,” Taeyong suggested. He waited for Chenle to take off his shoes, since the upper floor was carpeted, before passing Jisung to Kun and letting Chenle lead the way upstairs.

Kun set Jisung's carrier out of the way of the front door and lifted the baby out of it. "What do you say to a little exploration, Sungie?" he asked. Jisung was looking around with wide eyes, not quite sure what to look at first.

Taeyong could see the master bedroom at the end of the hall, but was redirected by Chenle charging into a different room. It was painted a soft yellow and had plenty of room for either of the boys. Once he got Chenle to look at the other room, which was nearly identical but looked out to a different side of the yard, he let the boy choose which one he wanted.

“I want this one,” Chenle announced, bouncing over to the window. He gasped when he looked outside and saw the huge yard. “Baba, play outside?” he asked, not turning around.

“We can play outside once we put everything away, okay, Lele?” Taeyong said. He guided the boy back downstairs to where Kun was exploring the kitchen with Jisung.

Kun turned around when he heard footsteps behind him. “Look how much room there is,” he said excitedly. Between his old apartment and Taeyong’s, he had never cooked in a full size kitchen and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it yet.

“It’s so exciting!” Taeyong said, still not believing it was actually theirs.

Kun could barely contain the wide smile on his face. He almost forgot they were in a completely different country, but a small voice in the back of his mind kept reminding him. "What do you think of upstairs, Lele?" he asked.

“Big!” Chenle said excitedly, “so big!” He was excited to have his own room that he wouldn’t have to share with Jisungie.

Kun chuckled fondly. "And what do you think of upstairs?" he asked, directing his attention to Taeyong.

“It’s amazing,” Taeyong said, “it’s all amazing.” Brian entered the kitchen, phone to his ear. “The furniture should be here in an hour,” he said in Korean when he hung up, “let’s make a design plan, yeah?”

"Oh, uh, yeah, that sounds great," Kun said, settling Jisung more comfortably on his hip. Even though he knew they should be practicing English, he was grateful their realtor was so accommodating. He snuck a look at Taeyong; interior design wasn't quite his forte so he wasn't sure how much help he'd be.

Taeyong leaned against the counter and started talking with Brian about the best ways to arrange things. The realtor had really taken them under his wing in terms of purchasing the furniture and Taeyong had rarely been more glad to meet someone in his life.

Kun took Jisung and Chenle into the living room. He laid the baby's blanket on the floor and put Jisung down on his stomach. After grabbing Chenle's coloring book and setting the toddler up, he slowly lowered himself to the floor. He knew he should probably be helping Taeyong, but he was content to keep an eye on the boys.

Taeyong was glad to see that Brian had an eye for aesthetics and was able to help him plot out the rooms. By the time the delivery trucks arrived, they had a master plan on the realtor’s trusty clipboard. While Brian went out to talk to the movers, Taeyong went to go find Kun. “You wanna move to the backyard?” he suggested, “I don’t want the kids to get in the way.”

"Sure thing. Come on, boys, we're getting kicked out," Kun said jokingly as he pulled himself to his feet. He scooped up Jisung and grabbed the blanket. "Let's go explore the backyard, Lele." The toddler immediately dropped the crayon he was holding and took off for the back door.

Taeyong picked up Chenle’s coloring supplies with a fond sigh and set them on the kitchen counter. Brian was directing the various pieces of furniture around. Taeyong tried his best to help but there wasn’t much he could do.

Kun helped Chenle down the couple steps of the back deck and smiled as he watched the toddler take off for the trees that lined the end of the yard. He laid out the blanket again and sat down with Jisung in his lap this time.

It seemed to take all day but all of the furniture was finally in the house. Not all of it was assembled and Taeyong finally went out back to recruit Kun’s help.

Once Chenle had explored to his heart’s content he bounced his way back over to Kun. He somehow managed to snuggle his way into his lap without dislodging Jisung. However, this arrangement didn’t last long before Taeyong called them in. “Let’s go see what baba needs,” Kun said. The minute the trio entered the house, Chenle’s energy levels were back and he took off for the living room.

Taeyong managed to snag Chenle before he could leave the kitchen. “We need to take your shoes off, babe,” he said, not wanting mud on the carpet already.

Chenle huffed, but kicked his shoes off regardless. He wiggled as best he could to get out of Taeyong's grasp, and pouted when he wasn't successful. "Baba, I wanna  _ play _ ," he whined.

“You can, babe, but you have to be careful. There’s a lot of tools and stuff out and I don’t want you to get hurt okay?” He released the boy to finally go play.

"What do you need from me?" Kun asked as Chenle bolted from the kitchen. Jisung had his head resting on Kun's shoulder and was staring at Taeyong tiredly. Once he went down for a nap they would have a couple hours to organize.

“There’s still some furniture that needs to be put together, and then all of our linens and stuff are in the storage unit so we have to go get that stuff,” Taeyong said, “we can go grocery shopping tomorrow; I’ve already told Brian we’ll take him and his family out to dinner tonight.”

"Let me get this one down for a nap and then I'll see if Chenle wants to take a ride with me to the storage unit to get him out of your way," Kun offered. He was a little nervous about trying to navigate the unfamiliar city, but as long as he had the GPS and didn't have to talk to many people at the facility he would be okay.

“Brian might go with you,” Taeyong said, “just to make sure you don’t get misdirected.” He could handle putting pieces together himself, so long as he had help getting the furniture upright when it was done.

"That would probably be for the best," Kun said. He hated pulling the realtor in so many different directions, but he made everything run so much more smoothly. Bouncing as he walked, he paced back and forth trying to lure Jisung to sleep. Kun wasn't quite ready to put the baby down anyway so he wasn't worried if Jisung didn't fall asleep right away.

“We don’t have to get everything from the unit, just the stuff we need for tonight. We can leave all of the decorating for tomorrow,” Taeyong added, watching Jisung with a soft smile.

Kun nodded. "Alright, bug, what do you say? Is it nap time?" he asked. He of course didn't receive a response, but the baby's steady breathing was a good indication of the answer. "Don't miss us too much," Kun joked. He stole a light kiss before going to put Jisung down for his nap and gather Chenle.

Taeyong decided to start with Chenle’s furniture, which was likely going to be the easiest to put together. He picked up the carrier and took Jisung upstairs with him, setting up some soft instrumental music to keep the baby asleep while he broke out the tools.

Chenle was more than happy to take a trip so Kun helped the toddler get his jacket and shoes on. He had to wrestle the wiggling toddler into his car seat but soon enough they were on their way. “Thank you so much for doing this,” Kun said quietly. He really wasn’t sure what they would have done if they didn’t have Brian.

Taeyong put Jisung in his carrier in the hallway to mute the construction sounds and left the door cracked so he could hear the baby. He then got to work constructing the bottom frame of the toddler's bed.

Kun kept Chenle wrapped tightly in his arms the duration of the time at the storage facility. He quickly realized that there would have been no way he could have navigated if Brian hadn’t come with him. This language barrier was going to be much more difficult to overcome than he originally anticipated. Not soon enough, they were pulling back into their own driveway and Kun let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

By the time Kun got back, Taeyong had mostly assembled all of the furniture in Chenle's room. He would need another person to get the bedframe moved into its place, but other than that, the boy's room was all set.

Kun brought all of the linens and a few extra boxes they grabbed into the master bedroom before heading back down the hallway. He stepped around Jisung’s carrier and smiled when he noticed the baby was still sleeping. “What do you need help with, babe?” he asked when he entered the toddler’s room. Chenle was already exploring the furniture and giving it his seal of approval.

"Can you help me move the bed over in the corner?" Taeyong asked. He put the tools up on top of Chenle's dresser, out of the boy's reach, and turned toward his fiancé.

“Do I get the second born as payment this time or are you going to negotiate new terms?” Kun teased as he walked over to the bed. Chenle bounced out of the way and back over to the window to stare into the backyard.

"Hm, I think the second born can be negotiated," Taeyong joked. Jisung would probably be up soon to eat anyway.

Kun smiled victoriously. “Just remember favors add up and you’re out of children,” he added. Everything had been so stressful lately that it was nice to find moments to joke around with his fiancé.

Taeyong smiled and shook his head fondly. "Lele, watch out," he said, "we're going to put your bed there, okay?"

Chenle scurried into the hallway and found that Jisung was awake. He ran downstairs to get a toy from the carry on, but by the time he got back upstairs, his brother was crying. “Baba,” he said nervously as he ran towards his room and almost got knocked over by Kun walking out. “Whoa, whoa, baby, it’s okay,” Kun said quickly, steadying the toddler, “wanna help me feed Sungie?” He was met with wide eyes and a slow nod.

Taeyong cracked his back once the bed was in place and gathered his tools to move onto Jisung's room. It was certainly nerve wracking that the baby was going to be sleeping on his own now, but it was also a positive step. However, there was so much to put together that he ended up recruiting Brian to help him.

Kun took both boys downstairs and made Jisung a bottle. Once they all settled on the couch, Chenle automatically crawled into his lap. The toddler was practically a professional at this point and he never ceased to amaze Kun. He placed a gentle kiss to the top of his eldest son’s head.

By the time Taeyong and Brian got the baby's furniture done, they were both starving. They went downstairs to find Kun and get him and the boys cleaned up for dinner. Brian's partner and their sons were going to meet them at the restaurant.

Kun wasn’t surprised that Chenle fell asleep on the way to the restaurant. The boy had missed an afternoon nap due to the hecticness of moving all the furniture in. He had to admit he was a little bit nervous to meet Brian’s family, but he knew it would be good for them.

Taeyong was grateful that Brian had chosen a traditional Korean restaurant for dinner. The full day of trying to converse in his barely passable English had been exhausting and he would take any break he could get. 

When they arrive at the restaurant, Kun scooped a still sleeping Chenle into his arms and left Taeyong to get Jisung. He stayed close to his fiancé, hoping that would help calm his nerves.

Taeyong grunted as he lifted Jisung out of his carrier. His arms were sore from all of the furniture he had built and even the baby was a little heavy. Fortunately, the baby was fully awake, so they would be able to put him in a high chair with no issues.

“Are you hungry, Lele?” Kun asked when he noticed the toddler blink his eyes open. Chenle whined loudly in response and tucked his head further into Kun’s neck. He chewed on his lip nervously, and rubbed his son’s back gently. Hopefully he would stay calm through the duration of dinner.

"Younghyun-ah! Over here!" Brian smiled when he saw the tall man by the doors, two young boys clinging to his legs. "This is my husband, Jae," he said as he led Taeyong and Kun over, "and our boys, Wonpil and Dowoon."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kun greeted politely. He smiled at the two boys and was happy that they seemed to be around Chenle's age. Hopefully the toddler woke up soon so he could make some new friends. "This is my fiancé Taeyong, our baby Jisung, and this is Chenle," he said gesturing with his chin to the toddler in his arms, "he'll be awake in a few minutes to say hi."

"It's nice to meet you too," Jae said with a wide smile. Brian picked up the smaller of the two boys, who stuck his thumb in his mouth, and the couple led the way inside the restaurant. Jae greeted the hostess with an air of familiarity and soon enough they were seated in a quiet part of the restaurant.

Kun gently lifted Chenle off his shoulder to put him in the booster seat, but he didn’t get very far before the toddler whined unhappily. “Are you gonna at least say hi or are you going to sleep all through dinner?” he asked quietly, “there are some people that would like to meet you.” Chenle dropped his head back onto Kun’s shoulder, and looked between the strangers uncertainly. His eyes lit up when he saw the other toddlers but he didn’t move quite yet.

Jae helped Wonpil into his chair and nudged the boy. "Are you going to say hi to Chenle, Pillie?" he asked, "I bet he'd love to be friends with you."

“Can I put you down now?” Kun asked. Chenle nodded this time and was complacent as he was placed in the seat in between Wonpil and his father. He mumbled a shy “hi” and clung onto Kun’s arm, not quite sure if this was a good idea yet or not. “He’s usually a chatterbox, but it takes a little bit for him to warm up,” he explained.

"It's okay, Lele," Taeyong said encouragingly, "Kun baba and I are right here." As he said it, a waiter came over to get them drinks.

Chenle whined quietly and tightened his grip on Kun’s arm. “Do you want to ask Wonpil if he wants to color with you? I brought your book and some crayons,” Kun suggested. Chenle slowly turned toward Wonpil. “Color?” he asked quietly.

"Can I?" Wonpil asked, turning back toward Jae, who nodded. Wonpil excitedly joined Chenle in coloring in a picture of a dinosaur. Across the table, Dowoon was sitting in a booster seat next to his younger father, banging his fists on the table.

Chenle immediately released his hold on Kun's arm so he could color. Kun smiled softly and combed his fingers through his son's hair. Jisung was watching Dowoon with wide eyes and after a minute began to imitate him, thrilled by the prospect of a new game.

Taeyong watched Jisung attempting to drum on the table with fond eyes. "How old is he?" Jae asked once the waiter had left. "He'll be eight months on the fifth," Taeyong replied with a smile. The baby had grown up so fast already, it was amazing.

"Your boys are absolutely adorable," Kun gushed. He had been watching Chenle and Wonpil for a few minutes and listening to them chatter away about the different dinosaurs they were coloring. Hopefully this could lead to Chenle having a new friend, or even two, to play with. Jisung had not given up on his drumming, determined to match Dowoon exactly, although at the rate he was going it wasn't promising.

Brian smiled widely and brushed his hand through Dowoon's hair. "Wonpil's four and Dowoonie just turned three last month," he said proudly.

Kun was actually a little surprised that Chenle was older than Dowoon, considering his own toddler was much smaller. "Lele's right in the middle of them," he said. Chenle was blissfully unaware of the adults talking about him and continued to scribble vigorously.

"Dowoonie's already pretty tall, isn't he?" Taeyong asked. He knew Brian was about Kun's height and Jae was even taller, so it made sense that Dowoon would be on the tall side, but it still surprised him a little.

Chenle dropped his crayon and turned around to tap Kun's arm. "What's up, baby?" Kuna asked, leaning down to hear the toddler better. "Bathroom," Chenle replied quietly. "Alright, let's go," he helped the toddler down from his seat and headed off to find a bathroom.

"Yeah, Wonpil's a little small, but Jae's always been tall, so it's not surprising that Dowoonie's a little above the curve," Brian said. The boy looked up at his father when he heard his name before turning back to banging on the table, this time with a metal chopstick in hand.

"He's our little drummer boy," Jae said, obviously proud of the nickname, "he's always banging his fists and anything he can get his hands on. It's cute at first, but it can get exhausting after a while." 

"Oh, I can imagine," Taeyong said. Jisung was still trying to imitate Dowoon, but he couldn't reach the table so he was hitting the edge of the high chair instead. 

Jae sat back in his chair, keeping one eye on Dowoon to make sure he didn't knock anything off the table. "What do you do for work?" he asked, "Brian hasn’t told me anything other than you just moved from Seoul."

"I'm an author," Taeyong said, almost a little embarrassed. Despite his success, he still felt a little ashamed of not having the most stable career. "And Kunnie works in forensics."

Jae's eyebrows raised slightly. "An author? Wow that's impressive. Not many people get to say that," he said, voice filled with admiration. Meanwhile, Kun and Chenle had finally returned from the bathroom. Kun helped the toddler back into his seat before sitting down himself.

"Ah, I've only published one novel," Taeyong said, scratching the back of his neck shyly. "How about you?"

Kun smiled softly. Taeyong never liked to take proper credit for what he had accomplished. "I own a music store across the city," Jae replied, "I used to mainly just buy and sell records and CDs but recently I've been starting guitar and voice lessons and so far so good. Any musicians in the family?"

"Maybe Jisung if he keeps going on this way," Taeyong joked, "my brother likes music too, but he went into law."

Kun snuck a look at Chenle and a small smile pulled at his lips. The toddler loved to sing and if he was serious about it in a few years maybe voice lessons would be something he would enjoy. Kun decided to keep that thought in the back of his head and bring it up to Taeyong later. 

"So how long have you two been married?" Taeyong asked changing the subject. Brian and Jae couldn't have been much older than himself and Kun.

"About five years," Jae said fondly, "we had been dating for a while before that, but when we found out I was pregnant will Pillie we decided to tie the knot." He snuck a look at Brian and smiled widely. "Any plans for your big day? I remember you mentioning you're engaged."

"Soon," Taeyong said, reaching out to take Kun's hand, "we haven't really talked about it since we've been so wrapped up with moving, but hopefully within the next year."

Kun squeezed Taeyong's hand gently. Everytime they brought up getting married he got more and more excited. It was finally going to be a reality for them after they waited for so long. "Well if you need help with any of the music stuff, feel free to drop by," Jae offered. “That would be great,” Kun said. Their food came a little while later and they spent the rest of their time at the restaurant chatting. It was nice to meet some people who could help them navigate the city until they got on their feet. Kun had to admit he was a little sad that dinner was over as quick as it was, but he was looking forward to the first night in the new house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wHo iS bRiAn


	35. Chapter 35

A few weeks later found them finally settling in to their new home. Kun was finally starting work and Chenle was starting to open up more to Wonpil and Dowoon. He missed Jeno a lot and had a hard time being comfortable with new friends, but Taeyong knew that would fade soon.

Kun was nervous for his first day at his new job, but he had been assigned a coworker to shadow for the week. He wasn't thrilled about working full time again, but his days were over quick enough. In the evening when he got home, Chenle and Wonpil were playing together in the living room and didn't even notice Kun walk in.

Taeyong was finishing up dinner when Kun got home. “How was your day?” he asked, going over to give his fiancé a kiss. In the high chair behind him, Jisung yelled loudly and reached out for his younger father.

"Long, but okay," Kun replied tiredly, "how was yours?" He smiled when he saw Jisung with his arms outstretched. "Don't worry, baby, you can have a kiss too," he said, lifting his son out of the highchair. He placed a gentle kiss to Jisung’s forehead before holding him close.

“Lele! Can you and Wonpil go wash your hands for dinner please?” Taeyong called out as Kun busied himself with Jisung. “It was good,” he said, turning back to his fiancé, “Dowoonie’s sick so it was just Wonpil today.” Given the flexibility of his and Jae’s schedules, they would switch back and forth who would watch the toddlers during the day, which gave Taeyong a good opportunity to get work done.

"Poor kid, I hope he feels better soon," Kun said absently. He bounced the baby in his arms and walked back and forth. Considering how talkative Chenle is, Kun wondered if Jisung would pick up some simple words soon. "Were you good for Taeyong baba today or were you a troublemaker?" he asked, cocking a eyebrow.

“We decided to send our squash flying off the tray to the ground but that’s what the tile is for, right, Bug?” Taeyong said, switching to a baby voice as he tickled the boy’s tummy. Jisung was usually very good, but he was a baby and babies were messy.

Jisung giggled loudly and tried to hide in Kun's neck, with limited success. "Not your squash!" Kun said dramatically, "well I hope it was at least fun." A few moments, Chenle came skittering into the kitchen and latched himself onto Kun's legs.

Taeyong took the baby from Kun’s arms so the younger man could say hi to their older son. “Let’s get you fed, bug,” he said to Jisung, plopping him back in the high chair.

"Hi there, Lele," Kun said, picking up his eldest son, "and how was your day with Wonpil?" The other toddler had stopped in the doorway and was staring at Kun shyly. "Fun!" Chenle said simply, already wiggling his way out of Kun's arms.

“Lele, can you and Pillie help set the table?” Taeyong asked as he pulled a jar of mashed up carrots out of the fridge.

Kun snuck upstairs to get changed before joining his family at the table. It was nice that Chenle got along so well with Wonpil, but it was definitely evident that he missed Jeno. Dinner went as smoothly as it could with two toddlers and a baby and before Kun knew it he was sitting on the couch watching the boys together on the floor.

Taeyong finished up the dishes and went to join the others in the living room, checking his phone as his did so. "Wonpil, your dad's on his way over," he said, "you should go get your stuff ready, okay?"

Wonpil pouted but began to clean up his toys anyway. He dropped the trains into his backpack and sat down by the door to put his shoes on. Chenle had stood up as well, but he headed over to the couch instead and clambered into Kun's lap. "You can sit here until you have to say goodbye," Kun said quietly.

Taeyong reached out and tucked Chenle's hair behind his ear. It was getting long and the boy would probably need a haircut soon. Ten minutes later, Jae was knocking on the door.

"Come on, kiddo, up you get," Kun said gently. He put Chenle down on the floor and walked over to open the door. He was surprised Chenle was being so shy, especially because he knew Jae, but he chalked it up to the toddler being tired. Hopefully that was all it was. Wonpil was less that excited to go home, but that changed the moment Jae walked into the room.

Taeyong smiled as Jae picked Wonpil up. They talked for a minute about Dowoon and their plan for the next day before the older man and his son took their leave.

"What's going on, Lele? You're never this shy," Kun said, lifting the toddler into his arms. The whine he received in response confirmed his earlier suspicions. "I'm gonna give him a bath before he falls asleep."

Taeyong nodded in agreement. Jisung was starting to get sleepy as well. Hopefully, they could get both boys down easily and have some time to themselves.

Chenle was too tired to resist bath time or splash around, which made Kun’s job much easier. He debated bringing the toddler to bed with him to lay down for a minute, but decided against it. “What did you do to our poor boys today?” Kun joked when he found Taeyong, “they’re exhausted.”

"Left them to their own devices," Taeyong said with a smile. Wonpil was more than energetic enough to keep up with Chenle, especially when he didn't have to make sure his younger brother kept up.

“Huh, I’ll have to remember that,” Kun said. It dawned on him that he hadn’t watched the boys alone in ages. Maybe he would have to solicit Jae’s help in getting Taeyong out of the house one day. He slipped into the bathroom so his fiancé wouldn’t catch on to him.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of telling me about your first day!” Taeyong called as Kun slipped into the bathroom.

Kun took his time in the bathroom, making sure he had a foolproof plan ready to go before braving reentering the bedroom. “It went okay. They assigned me someone to shadow who is fluent in Korean so that made everything easier. I only have him to help me for the first week though,” he explained.

“I guess we’ll have to really get on top of those English lessons, huh,” Taeyong said. When Kun laid down, he curled up next to him, pillowing his head on his fiancé’s shoulder.

"That we do," Kun said, "but for now I'm sure we can find better ways to spend our time." It was certainly an adjustment moving Jisung into his own room, but it gave them the opportunity to have some alone time at night.

“Hey,” Taeyong said quietly, “I was thinking...we came here to get married, right? I think it’s time to start figuring that out.”

“Mhm, I like the sound of that,” Kun said softly, “but where do we even start?” He had never been to a wedding, let alone planned one so he was a bit lost.

“A date?” Taeyong suggested, “maybe a theme? Or colors?”

"Those are sound pretty important, but I think the real question is how do we decide who gets to be the ring bearer and who is the flower boy?" Kun asked. He wanted his sons to be involved as possible in the wedding but he could already imagine the arguments trying to pick who got to do what.

“Well, Lele can walk and throw things and Jisung can’t,” Taeyong said with a small smile, “I think that makes our decision for us.”

"That was easy. Although I'm sure Chenle would agree to any job since he's so easy going. Since we got that squared away...have you thought of any dates yet?" Kun asked slowly.

“Nothing specific, but I’d like something in the summer,” Taeyong said. It was the one thing he would demand.

“Oh , we can do something outside! Of course we can’t really predict the weather, but that would be so nice,” Kun said excitedly, “what about colors?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Taeyong said, “something light and summery.”

“What about orange?” Kun suggested, “a nice gentle pastel orange.” He had never really a good eye for colors, but he wanted to at least contribute an idea.

“That would be nice,” Taeyong said, “all light and summery.” He could picture it already, pastel oranges and yellows.

“Lele and Sungie would look so cute in orange,” Kun mused. He knew he was getting distracted but he couldn’t help it.

“I can just picture them both in little suits,” Taeyong said with a happy sigh, “we could even have Lele pull Sungie in a wagon or something.”

“That would be adorable,” Kun said, “we can start looking at places tomorrow if you want.” He had absolutely no desire to move and the laptop was downstairs. Besides they had plenty of time to organize things at their pace.

Taeyong smiled and leaned up to kiss his fiancé. He was excited. After nearly five years of being engaged, this was finally happening.

Kun hummed contently. He kissed Taeyong back gently, savoring the moment. They had waited so long for this, he couldn’t believe they were finally getting the wedding they’ve always wanted. Sure it was still a long way away, but the excitement was already building.

“I love you,” Taeyong whispered when he pulled away from Kun, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Kun said sincerely before leaning down to steal one last kiss. They went to bed not long after, happily wrapped in each other’s arms. The week slowly slipped away and soon Kun was on his own at work. His coworker was there to help as much as possible, but it was up to Kun to pick up English on his own. In the blink of an eye, or at least that's how it felt, it was Halloween and Kun was trying to help Chenle into his costume.

“You’re a cute little bug, aren’t you, Jisungie?” Taeyong said, making the baby giggle. True to his nickname, they had dressed Jisung up as a caterpillar and he was snug as a bug in Taeyong’s arms while they waited for Kun and Chenle to get ready.

Kun zipped up the back of Chenle’s outfit and helped the boy put on his helmet. “Go show Taeyong baba,” he encouraged. Chenle took off out of the bathroom and down the stairs to find his brother and father.

Taeyong looked up when he heard feet on the stairs. “Oh, Lele, you look so cool!” The boy was dressed up as a racecar driver, complete with the fancy helmet.

Kun smiled proudly as he followed behind the toddler. “Lele, do you want to take the helmet off while we wait for Wonpil and Dowoon to come?” he asked. “No! It’s part of the costume,” Chenle replied adamantly.

“Lele, come here and sit with your brother so I can take pictures,” Taeyong said, sitting the baby on the carpet near the fireplace.

Chenle bounced over to Jisung and sat down next to him. He wrapped his arms around his brothers shoulders and pulled him closer, already smiling wide.

Taeyong smiled widely as he took a bunch of pictures of his boys. “Kunnie, you get in there too,” he said. His fiancé, against his advice, had dressed up as a minion, complete with a painted face.

Kun sat down next to his boys, but before he had the chance to get comfortable Chenle was already half way into his lap and Jisung stuck his arms out. "Easy boys, I'm right here," he said with a light chuckle. He helped situate both boys on his lap comfortably and pulled them as close as he could without getting any face paint on them.

Taeyong smiled as he continued snapping photos. His boys were so cute, all three of them. When the doorbell rang, Chenle jumped up immediately, running to let in his new friend.

Kun carefully got to his feet, keeping Jisung in his arms. The baby was absolutely adorable and all he wanted to do was smother him in kisses, but that would have to wait. "We need a picture of all four of us," he said to Taeyong before going to help Chenle open the door.

“I’m not dressed up though,” Taeyong protested. He hadn’t been able to come up with a costume in time, so he was planning to stay home and pass out candy.

"So? It's our first Halloween and I want a family picture for our scrapbook," Kun countered. He finished his sentence off with the cutest pout he could manage.

“I am not taking a picture with you looking like a banana in overalls,” Taeyong said with a snort.

"And here I was thinking you loved me," Kun said feigning sadness as he pulled the door open. Before he could greet Jae, Brian, and the boys properly, Chenle had already beaten him to the punch.

Taeyong smiled and kissed Kun’s hair fondly. He greeted Jae and Brian, marveling over how cute Dowoon and Wonpil looked. The older of the two was dressed up as the red power ranger, while the younger was a cute but quiet elephant.

After everyone had greeted each other and fawned over the boys costumes they were ready to get going. They were going out on the early side of things, but Kun wanted to make sure they were home before the boys got too tired and the older kids came out. "Tae, are you sure you don't want to come? We can leave the bowl of candy on the front porch with a note," he suggested. He didn't like the idea of leaving Taeyong home to hand out candy, but he knew he couldn't convince his fiancé if he was dead set on this.

“Yeah, Jae and I will stay here while you and Brian take the boys out,” Taeyong said, having already planned it out. They were going to enjoy some wine while handing out candy and then set the boys up with some movies when they got back.

"Alright, you guys have fun and we'll see you back soon," Kun said. He ushered the boys out the door and followed Brian to their first destination. He had Jisung wrapped tightly in his arms, but that didn't stop his wiggling. The baby knew something exciting was going on, but he wasn't quite sure what it was yet.

Jae got the bowl of candy ready while Taeyong popped the cork on a bottle of wine. He figured it was good to give Kun some time with the kids. He hadn’t had much of that lately.

It didn't take Chenle more than a couple of houses before he figured out to say "Trick or Treat" when the door opened. Kun was proud of his son for picking up the phrase so quickly, but he knew that would be all they heard around the house until he found a new English phrase to repeat.

“So how is wedding planning going?” Jae asked as they settled on the front porch. Taeyong sighed. “It’s hard to find the time,” he said, “I don’t want to be the one making all the decisions, but Kunnie works so much.”

Chenle quickly grew tired of the helmet, which meant Kun ended up having to hold it. That wouldn't have been a problem if he didn't already have Jisung. While the baby was incredibly adorable, he was heavy and Kun's arms were starting to get achy.

Taeyong was excited to see all the little kids in their costumes. By the time the boys got back, they were almost out of candy and it was starting to get dark out. Taeyong and Jae were both a little tipsy, but not so much that they couldn’t hide it.

Jisung was fast asleep against Kun's shoulder by the time they got home. He excused himself for a few minutes to get Jisung changed and in bed and make himself presentable. When he came back downstairs the three toddlers were watching TV, the two eldest spread out on the floor, and the men were sitting around the living room. He smiled to himself when he saw the slight blush across Taeyong's cheeks and he wondered just how much of the wine they ended up having.

“Kunnie, come sit with me,” Taeyong called, patting the seat beside him. Dowoon had grown tired of playing and was sitting on his lap, elephant head bobbing as he played with Taeyong’s hand and nodded his head along to the music from the movie.

Kun chuckled and obediently went to sit next to his fiancé. "How did handing out candy go?" he asked.

“Good,” Taeyong said with a soft smile. He leaned his head on his fiancé’s arm and played absently with Dowoon’s elephant ears.

"Do I have to put you to bed too?" Kun teased. He sat deeper on the couch so Taeyong would be comfortable and watched his fiancé fiddle with Dowoon's costume.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Taeyong said, “you’re just comfy.” He wrapped one hand around Kun’s bicep.

"Before you didn't want any part of me, now you're wrapped around my arm. Why the sudden change of heart?" Kun asked. He turned his head so he could kiss the top of Taeyong's hair gently.

“You’re less yellow now,” Taeyong mumbled. Most of Kun’s face paint had faded off and he looked less like a crazy person.

Kun laughed softly. They sat there talking together quietly while the boys finished their movie and had a couple pieces of candy. By the time the movie was over both boys were yawning widely and half asleep.

Dowoon had fallen asleep on Taeyong’s lap by the time Brian picked him up to go home. That was fine though, because Taeyong was almost asleep himself.

Kun walked the Kang family to the door and bid them goodnight before focusing on his sleepy boys. He picked up Chenle in one arm and wrapped his other around Taeyong’s waist. After guiding his fiancé to bed, he got Chenle changed and the chocolate washed from his face before putting him in his own bed. He gently kissed Chenle’s forehead before heading back into his own room.

“Go wash your face,” Taeyong mumbled when Kun came back into the room. He still had some paint on his face and it was disconcerting.

“Yes, babe,” Kun said. He ducked into the bathroom and scrubbed his face until he positive all of the paint was gone. After getting changed and brushing his teeth he walked back into the bedroom. “Am I allowed to lay down now?”

Taeyong hummed and waited for Kun to lay down before pressing close to his side. “The minion makeup was bad but you’re still cute,” he mumbled.

Kun wrapped an arm around Taeyong and pulled him closer. “I’m glad you think so,” he said lightly, “you’re awfully cuddly tonight. Did you and Jae have a little too much wine while we were out?” Taeyong was always affectionate, but not quite like how he had been this evening.

Taeyong whined and smacked Kun’s side lightly. “You know I don’t handle my alcohol well,” he mumbled.

“Hey, hey, it was an honest question,” Kun said defensively, “I just think it’s cute how cuddly you get.” He knew Taeyong hated compliments, but he couldn’t help it was his fiancé was being so adorable.

“‘M not cute,” Taeyong whined, pouting. He knew he was being a brat, but he couldn’t help it. He hated being called cute.

“What do you prefer instead? Adorable? Or would you prefer something a little more accurate? Like beautiful or stunning?” he asked, only half-joking. In all the years they had been together, Kun had yet to find a compliment that Taeyong wouldn’t turn his nose up at.

Taeyong shook his head. He knew Kun wanted to compliment him but he just didn’t feel comfortable with things like that.

Kun sighed softly. “Get some sleep, babe,” he murmured. He placed a gentle kiss to Taeyong’s forehead and settled down more comfortably.


	36. Chapter 36

A few weeks later found them all gathered in the living room. Jisung and Chenle were on the floor, playing with the plastic key ring. Jisung shook the keys before being distracted by the noise and movement next to him. He looked up at his father and brother with wide eyes, reaching out toward them. He reached so far that he tipped forward. Taeyong moved to catch him but the baby managed to somewhat catch himself. Taeyong froze, watching Jisung carefully to see what he would do.

Kun watched Jisung tip forward nervously and sat up. He relaxed when the baby caught himself and stared up at them. “Hi, bug, do you want to come sit with us?” he asked. Chenle had spun himself around and was watching Jisung curiously.

Taeyong watched Jisung with bated breath. He was about the age to start crawling and it would be amazing if Kun was here to share the moment. 

Jisung rocked back and forth uncertainly a few times. “Come on, baby,” Kun encouraged gently, “I know you want to come sit with us.” The baby carefully looked from his hands up to Kun before slowly moving one hand forward. Kun slid to the edge of the couch, smile widening as Jisung crawled towards him. The baby didn’t make it very far before he collapsed back onto his tummy, but it was the first time he had ever attempted crawling. 

Taeyong nearly cried. Jisung was growing up so fast. He quickly scooped the baby up, kissing all over his face as the boy giggled happily.

Kun didn’t miss Chenle’s small pout as he watched Taeyong shower Jisung in kisses. Taking the toddler slightly by surprise, he pressed a big kiss to his cheek. Chenle’s smile quickly returned and he turned back around to snuggle up to Kun. This evening was turning out to be much better than he could have ever hoped for.

“We should celebrate,” Taeyong said with a smile as he settled the baby in his lap. “Don’t you think, Lele?”

Chenle peaked his head back out at the mention of celebrating. “Cake?” he asked excitedly. Kun chuckled and leaned down to kiss the top of the toddler’s head.

“We’re having cake next week, silly,” Taeyong said, “I was thinking more along the lines of a nice dinner.”

Chenle’s excitement dwindled, but only for a moment. As long as he was doing something with his fathers and brother, he didn’t care what it was. “And where exactly should we go for this nice dinner?” Kun asked.

“I bet we could find a nice family place,” Taeyong said, “if anything, we can ask Jae for a recommendation.”

Kun nodded. "I'll look for some places later. For now, I want to play with my boys," he said. He carefully pushed himself off the couch and lowered himself to the floor. Chenle crawled back off of his lap and over to Jisung, grabbing the discarded keys on his way.

Taeyong smiled as his boys joined him on the floor. With Kun working so much now, it was rare for them to get free time together like this, and always much appreciated when they did.

Kun leaned against the couch watching his sons play for a few minutes. It was nice to have some free time with his boys, but it was gone too soon and before he knew it he was getting into bed for the night. They found a nice restaurant to try that weekend and while Jisung didn't quite understand what dinner was for, he enjoyed the fuss regardless. Soon enough it was Chenle's turn to be the center of attention. He had insisted on wearing a party hat all day and all but shoved one on Wonpil and Dowoon's heads when they arrived.

Taeyong was in the kitchen with Jae and Jisung while Brian and Kun ran around outside with the older kids. “I can’t believe he’s four already,” he said with a sigh, “he was so shy and quiet when he came to live with us.” The change in Chenle over the last two years was remarkable.

"You would never know he was a quiet kid. You guys are really good for him," Jae said. He was distracted by a tap against his leg and looked down to find Dowoon standing there. "Hi, Woonie, what do you need?" The boy wordlessly jabbed his finger toward the counter. Jae scooped his son up so he could see better. "You can't play on my phone right now," he said, trying to follow where Dowoon was pointing. The toddler shook his head and jabbed his finger towards the counter again. "The cup? Do you want some water?" Jae asked. Dowoon nodded and reached out both hands so he could take the cup from Jae.

“It surprises me that Dowoon’s so quiet when Wonpil talks just as much as Chenle,” Taeyong mused. He knew Dowoon was painfully shy, although he had warmed up to him and Kun fairly quickly, but even still, it seemed a little odd that he still wasn’t talking at three years old.

Jae sighed sadly and put the cup back on the counter when Dowoon was done. "We thought he would pick up some words quickly because of how chatty Wonpil is, but it's almost like the opposite happened. The only word he'll say is 'no' when he's really frustrated and we're home," Jae explained, "we've tried everything we could on our own, but nothing's worked. His doctor recommended speech therapy so we've been discussing that recently."

“Have you considered teaching him to sign?” Taeyong asked, “I can try to teach him when he’s over here during the day. At the very least, it’ll give him some method communication until he does start to talk.”

"You know sign? Like fluently?" Jae asked, "neither Brian or I know sign so I'm not sure if that's really an option for us." He looked at Dowoon, who was peering around the kitchen curiously trying to decide what he wanted next.

Taeyong almost snorted. “Yeah,” he said, keeping his composure, “I’m fluent, Kun’s mostly fluent, and even Chenle knows a bit. I can teach him a few signs a day and then teach you when you come to pick him up.”

Jae's eyes widened slightly. "That...that would be amazing, but you really don't have to," he said quickly. That would certainly take a weight off their shoulders if they could communicate better with Dowoon, but it certainly wasn't Taeyong's responsibility to work with their child.

“I’d love to,” Taeyong said earnestly. He didn’t sign much anymore, having spent much more time with his hearing aids in since Chenle’s arrival and especially since Jisung’s. It would be good practice for him and for all of the boys.

"Thank you so much," Jae said quietly, "what do you think about that, Woonie? We're gonna learn sign so we can talk better." He smiled widely rubbed his nose against the toddler's. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn sign?" he asked, turning his attention back to Taeyong.

“I taught myself,” Taeyong said, “I lost most of my hearing when I was young.” He had gotten more comfortable talking about his disability over the last few years, but he was sure Jae didn’t want the whole sad story.

“Oh wow,” Jae mumbled, “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that was.” Now it made sense why Kun and even Chenle knew a little bit of sign.

“I don’t use it all that often,” Taeyong said, “with hearing aids in, I can hear pretty much everything that’s regular inside voice level.”

"I didn't even realize you used hearing aids," Jae said quietly, "was Chenle able to pick up the signs easily?" He was incredibly grateful that Taeyong was willing to help teach Dowoon, but he was worried this would be another idea that wouldn't work.

“Oh yeah, they’re flesh colored so they blend right in,” Taeyong said, brushing back the hair over his ears to show the little devices sitting inside. “It’s actually easier to learn hearing, I think,” he continued, “he already has the verbal context for what he’s learning without relying on lip reading.”

Jae took a step closer to Taeyong to look at the small aids. He didn't get a very look before Dowoon was tapping his neck and pointing towards the counter again. He handed the cup to Dowoon again and watched the toddler to make sure he didn't spill any. "I would love your help, but I don't want to waste your time if this doesn't work," he said seriously. Jae had learned the hard way not to get too hopeful with new strategies to help Dowoon.

“It helps me too,” Taeyong assures Jae, “and Lele and Pillie and everyone. Really, I don’t mind at all.”

Jae smiled softly. "Thank you, really. This means a lot and I'm sure Brian will love the idea," he said. Not long after he finished his sentence the back door opened and in poured the two older toddlers followed by their fathers.

“Are you guys ready for pizza?” Taeyong asked as the boys trooped in from outside. Chenle bounced over to him excitedly.

When Brian walked over, Jae quickly explained what he and Taeyong had discussed while he was gone. “We’ll talk about it more later,” he said, setting Dowoon down in his own chair at the table.

The doorbell rang as the boys scampered off to wash their hands. Grabbing a pile of cash off the counter, Taeyong answered the door, exchanging the bills for his pizzas, and returned with the boxes just as Chenle raced back in, chanting for pizza.

Kun helped Chenle into his spot at the head of the table while Jae helped Wonpil. Once the pizza had cooled down a bit, they gave some to the boys and sat down to eat as well. Kun had stolen Jisung from Taeyong and sat the boy on his lap to watch what was going on before trying to feed him.

Taeyong was glad to see that Chenle was enjoying his birthday. Over the next few weeks, he started slowly teaching Dowoon - and, by extension, Wonpil and Chenle - some basic signs, which were then passed to Jae and Brian. By the time Christmas rolled around, there was a definitive change in the boy’s demeanor. He seemed happier now that he had a more comfortable way to communicate.

Kun was not surprised that he was woken up early on Christmas morning. This year he was able to convince Chenle to stay in bed with them for a little bit by saying that Jisung would want to open presents with him. He laid the toddler between him and Taeyong and wrapped an arm around him so he didn’t wiggle around too much. Eventually the toddler quieted down and Kun was able to get a few more minutes of sleep.

Taeyong smiled to himself when he felt Chenle bounce his way into their bed, but he didn’t open his eyes. Instead, he hunkered down for another half hour of sleep.

Kun woke up once again to a small fist tapping against his cheek. The only way Chenle could entertain himself from his prison was by using Kun as a drum set until his father woke up. 

“Good morning, Lele,” he said sleepily, “do you think it’s time to wake Taeyong baba up?” Chenle nodded excitedly so Kun released the toddler from his hold.

Taeyong groaned when the toddler landed on top of him. “I’m up, I’m up,” he groaned, twisting enough to dump the boy back onto the mattress.

Chenle giggled loudly and clung onto Taeyong’s shirt. A few moments later, Kun could hear Jisung whining through the baby monitor so he dragged himself out of bed to go get the baby and bring him back to bed.

“Lele, do you wanna go grab our stockings from the living room?” Taeyong suggested. They were within safe reach for the boy and not heavy whatsoever.

“Okay, baba,” Chenle said happily. He scrambled from the bed and raced downstairs. “Careful, Lele,” Kun called as the toddler took the stairs a little quickly. He scooped Jisung out of his crib and waited at the top of the stairs for Chenle to come back and then ushered his boys back into the room.

Taeyong took the stockings from Chenle so the boy could climb up on the bed again. He passed the boy his once he was seated and waited for Kun to sit down.

Kun carefully sat back down and settled Jisung on his leg. He wasn’t particularly fond with that arrangement and reached out both arms towards Taeyong.

Taeyong smiled and traded Kun his stocking for the baby. “Hi, bug,” he said, kissing Jisung’s nose, “are you excited for Christmas?”

Jisung laughed happily and reached out to pat both of Taeyong’s cheeks with his hands. “What did you get in your stocking, Lele?” Kun asked before the toddler pulled any other toys out.

Taeyong smiled and bounced Jisung in his lap, still half paying attention to Chenle and his stocking. He was the one that had filled it, so he already knew what the boy was getting.

Kun had snuck Taeyong’s phone into the bottom of the stocking the night before. He had debated hiding it in his fiancé’s but he figured he could surprise both of his boys if it was in Chenle’s. He reached for his own phone and sent a quick text when he saw Chenle grab the device. “Why is this in here?” the toddler asked confusedly. Not more than a second later the phone started to ring and Chenle gasped in surprise. “Answer it, baby,” Kun encouraged quietly.

Taeyong was confused when he saw Chenle pull his phone out of the stocking and even more so when it started ringing. His face broke into a wide smile when Johnny popped up on the screen.

“Uncle J!” Chenle cried excitedly. “What do you say?” Kun prompted gently. “Merry Christmas!” the toddler added excitedly.

Over the phone, Johnny laughed. “Merry Christmas, Lele,” he said, “did you get good presents?”

“Yes, yes! Legos!” Chenle replied happily. He dropped the phone onto his lap so he could grab the small box and frowned when he realized he couldn’t pick the phone back up. Kun chuckled and held the phone so Chenle could show off his present.

Taeyong frowned as he realized that Johnny was outside. Not only that, but it was light out. He did the mental math and quickly realized that that didn’t make sense. “Johnny, where the hell are you?”

Kun chewed on his bottom lip to keep a smile off his face. Chenle was completely distracted trying to get the box in his hands up.

No sooner had Taeyong asked the question than the doorbell rang. His face split into a huge grin. “Lele, wanna go answer the door?”

Chenle dropped the box and scrambled off the bed. Kun followed the toddler, leaving the stockings strewn across the bed. There was a much better present waiting for them downstairs.

Taeyong tidied up the bed before following his boys downstairs, Jisung firmly on his hip. Chenle positively shrieked when he opened the door. “Uncle J!”

Kun stood to the side while Chenle wrapped himself around Johnny's legs. "Let him inside, baby," he said. Chenle didn't like the idea of letting go so he stepped onto Johnny's feet so his uncle could walk inside.

Taeyong retrieved his phone from where the toddler had abandoned it on the floor, inspecting it for cracks before hanging up the FaceTime call and shoving it in his pocket. “This is quite the surprise,” he said, eyebrows raised.

Kun feigned innocence and focused his attention on Chenle. Once Johnny was through the door, Chenle reached his arms up. "Up! Up!" he chanted pleadingly. "Where are your manners?" Kun asked gently as he closed the door. "Please," Chenle whined.

“Let me say hi to your baba and Jisungie first,” Johnny said, ruffling Chenle’s hair. He stepped past the toddler to embrace Taeyong tightly, staying to one side to accommodate the baby.

Kun pulled the pouting Chenle against him. He was glad that Johnny was able to make the trip for Christmas. He knew how much Taeyong had missed his best friend and there was no better day for them to see each other.

Taeyong hugged Johnny tightly, frowning as he felt the tension in the older man’s body. He made a note to talk to him later, when Chenle was napping. For now, he released him to the hands of the toddler.

Chenle bounced back over to Johnny. "Up now?" he asked. The toddler had missed Johnny immensely and Kun knew he wasn't going to let his uncle out of his sight as long as he was here. Kun smiled softly and walked over to stand next to Taeyong. He brushed his finger against Jisung's cheek, but the baby wasn't interested in anything other than Johnny.

“Sure, kiddo,” Johnny agreed, grunting as he picked Chenle up. The boy had certainly grown a lot in the four months since he’d seen him, or maybe Johnny had just gotten weaker. Either way, it wouldn’t be long before he wouldn’t be able to carry Chenle anymore.

Chenle laughed happily and wrapped his arms around Johnny's neck so he could hug his uncle tightly. "Will you play with me?" he asked. He quickly added a "please" before Kun could say anything.

“Maybe after you open all those presents that are under the tree,” Johnny said, amused. Apparently, they hadn’t managed to get past the stockings.

"Okay," Chenle agreed easily. He wiggled out of Johnny's arms and latched onto his hand when he was back on the ground. He dragged his uncle into the living room and sat in the middle of the floor to open all of his presents. After running upstairs to grab his box of Legos, the toddler sat himself in Johnny's lap to play. He sat there for hours, trying to make up for all the time he had missed with Johnny. Once he started to yawn, Kun coaxed the toddler to go with him upstairs so he could nap by promising that Johnny would be there when he woke up. He took Chenle by the hand and Jisung in his arms, giving Johnny and Taeyong some uninterrupted time alone.

Taeyong and Johnny had relocated to the kitchen, both needing some coffee to stay awake. “So how’s everything back home?” Taeyong asked, “Tennie, Yuta, Jaeminnie?” Johnny sighed. “Not that great,” he mumbled.

Neither Jisung or Chenle were quite ready to go down for a nap so Kun let them play on the floor in Chenle's room for the time being. He sat on the floor out of the way and leaned against the wall, smiling as Jisung tried to keep up with Chenle, who was racing a car around the room.

“I mean, Jaeminnie’s fine, he’s perfect,” Johnny corrected himself, “it’s just...Tennie and Yuta have been fighting a lot and most of it’s because of me. That’s why I figured it was a good idea to let them spend Christmas on their own.” He sighed sadly. Maybe it was time to give all this up.

Jisung eventually gave up and just laid down in the middle of the floor. "I'm gonna put Sungie down for a nap and I'll be right back," Kun said to Chenle. He picked the baby up from where he laid down and carried him into his own room.

Taeyong reached a hand out and patted Johnny’s arm. “I’m sure they’re just stressed. Even with all the help in the world, a newborn is a lot of work and I’m sure Tennie’s work schedule isn’t helping,” he said reassuringly.

Once Jisung was settled in his crib, Kun took the baby monitor back into Chenle’s room. The toddler was running out of steam, which was evident by the fact that he crawled into Kun’s lap and snuggled into his chest the moment his father sat back down.

“I don’t mind them being mad at me,” Johnny said, “but I’d never be able to forgive myself if their relationship was to fall apart because of me.” Taeyong sighed. “This is Yuta and Ten we’re talking about here,” he said, “the two most stubbornly in love people on the planet. You know Tennie would rather die than hurt Yuta. They’ll be okay.”

Kun didn’t like to let the toddler fall asleep in his arms if he could help it, but he didn’t mind making the exception today. It gave him a little more time with his son and gave Taeyong and Johnny the opportunity to talk privately for longer.

“They had a massive fight a few weeks ago and Yuta wouldn’t even acknowledge Tennie for three days,” Johnny said quietly, “I’m hoping disappearing for a bit will help them settle out.”

Chenle breathing evened out a few minutes later and his grip on Kun’s shirt loosened. Kun held him close, enjoying the simple moment of just being with his son.

“How long are you planning on staying in the states?” Taeyong asked. “Just until the new year, but I’m gonna give them space when I go back,” Johnny said, “I’ll let them tell me when things are okay again.”

Kun eventually dragged himself off the floor, careful not to wake Chenle up. He laid the toddler in bed and tucked him in before going to check on Jisung.

“It’ll all work out,” Taeyong said, “I promise.” He squeezed Johnny’s hand before turning around to refill their mugs.

Kun finally headed back downstairs. He easily found the men in the kitchen and leaned in the doorway. Johnny looked exhausted and Kun knew it was from more than just traveling.

“Kunnie, come sit,” Taeyong said, grabbing a third mug out of the cabinet, “I was just about to offer our guest room to Johnny for the week.”

“Yeah, you’re more than welcome to stay with us. I’m sure the boys would love that and Sungie isn’t waking up at night so he shouldn’t be too much of a bother,” Kun said. He sat down at the table across from Johnny.

“Plus, you won’t waste the money on a hotel,” Taeyong added. He knew Johnny would be over every day anyway.

Kun nodded in agreement. "Whatever you're most comfortable with but we'd love to have you stay with us," he said. Chenle really wouldn't leave Johnny alone if he knew he was staying.

"That would be great, you guys, thank you," Johnny said sincerely. He had been prepared to shell out the money for a hotel, but this was infinitely easier.

"Of course. I'm sure Lele will be excited when he wakes up," Kun said. They talked for a while until a sleepy Chenle made his way down the stairs slowly. "Hi, baby, how was your nap?" Kun asked. He pushed his chair back from the table and scooped the toddler into his lap when he walked over. Chenle whined quietly in response and buried his face in Kun's neck.

"I'm gonna go check on Jisungie," Taeyong said, leaving both his boys with a kiss on the cheek before he went upstairs. The baby was still asleep, but Taeyong carefully lifted him out of the crib and settled into the rocking chair with him.

"Hey, Lele, what do you think about Uncle J staying with us for the week?" Kun asked. Chenle picked up his head and looked between Johnny and Kun with big eyes. "Really?" he asked, suddenly wide awake.

Taeyong gently rocked Jisung in the chair. The baby cooed in his sleep and shifted in Taeyong's arms to be closer. With a soft smile, Taeyong found himself drifting off as well.

"Yes really," Kun assured. Chenle hopped off of Kun's lap and rounded the table so he could hug Johnny's knee. "We can play all week!" he said excitedly.

Taeyong shook his head, keeping himself awake. He couldn't fall asleep with the baby in his arms; that wasn't safe at all.

Kun set Chenle up in the living room with a movie to give Johnny some time to relax from traveling. Jae, Brian, and the boys were coming over later for dinner and to exchange presents so Kun busied himself in the kitchen to make sure everything was ready.

When Jisung started to wake up, Taeyong painstakingly got out of the rocking chair and carried the baby downstairs. He knew Jisung would be hungry and it would be good to get him fed before everyone came over.

"Hi, sleepyheads," Kun greeted when Taeyong and Jisung came into the kitchen. "Do you want me to take him so you can get a little rest before everyone gets here?" The last couple dishes were in the oven and well on their way to being done.

"No, I'm okay," Taeyong said, "I'm just gonna feed him then we'll go lay on the couch ‘til everyone gets here." He kept the baby in one arm as he grabbed some mashed carrots out of the fridge.

Kun nodded and slipped into a chair. His took a sip of his coffee and sighed contently. There was nothing he loved more than spending simple moments like this with his boys.

By the time Taeyong got Jisung in his high chair and ready to eat, the baby was fully awake and very hungry. He still made a complete mess of himself, but it was still better than it would have been if he was sleepy.

"Someone needs a bath," Kun commented as Jisung waved his carrot covered hands excitedly. Kun wiped most of the food from the baby's hands and face before taking his bib off. Thankfully that was easily cleaned with a little soap and water.

They didn't really have time to give Jisung a bath before the Kangs were due to show up, so Taeyong settled for wiping the rest of the food from his hands and face and changing him into clean clothes.

"Chenle, do you want to get the door?" Kun asked when the doorbell finally rang. The toddler hopped off the couch and with minimal help pulled the door open. "Merry Christmas!" he greeted cheerily.

Taeyong was just coming back down the stairs with Jisung when Jae, Brian, and the kids walked in. He greeted them happily, letting Jae lift Jisung from his arms to greet the baby as well. "Did you guys get good presents?" he asked Wonpil and Dowoon.

"I got a remote control race car!" Wonpil said excitedly. Chenle grabbed his friend by the hand and dragged him upstairs so they could play with his new toys. Dowoon waited until Taeyong was looking at him again before signing "airplane."

"Oh, that's so cool, Dowoonie!" Since Jae had Jisung and didn't seem at all ready to let him go, Taeyong picked up the toddler, leading the way into the kitchen.

Dowoon wrapped his arms around Taeyong's neck. He turned around to look at Brain, smiling widely. Kun greeted Jae and Brian before turning his attention to the toddler. "Hi, Dowoonie," he said. He tickled Dowoon's side, causing the toddler to giggle quietly.

Taeyong introduced Jae and Brian to Johnny, explaining to his best friend who they were and even attempting to get Dowoon to say hi. "He's really shy," he said when the boy just hid in his neck.

"Chenle! Wonpil! Come downstairs. We're gonna eat first and then you boys can keep playing," Kun called. A few minutes later, the boys still hadn't come down so Kun made the journey upstairs.

"Dowoonie, do you wanna show Johnny your airplane?" Jae asked, pulling the toy out of the bag he'd brought with him. Dowoon peeked up at the tall man - he was even taller than his daddy! - and cautiously held the toy out to him.

"I know there's two hungry boys up here somewhere," Kun singsonged when he reached the top of the stairs. A pair of giggles gave away the toddlers as being somewhere in Chenle's room, but they were nowhere to be found when Kun walked in. "Where could they have gone?" he asked the "empty" room. He feigned concern and began looking around the room for the hidden toddlers.

"That's a very cool plane, Dowoonie," Johnny said with a soft smile, "can you show me how it flies?" Dowoon wiggled in Taeyong's arms, nonverbally asking to be let down.

After unsuccessfully searching for a few minutes, Kun gave up. "Oh well, I can't find anyone in here. I guess the boys must not be that hungry. More for me then," he teased. Turning around, he began to walk out of the room, but didn't get very far before two pairs of arms wrapped around his legs. "Baba, we're right here!" Chenle said. "Oh, there you two are! I couldn't find you because you hid so well," Kun said, "now let's see who can wash their hands and get downstairs the fastest. Ready? Go!" The two boys immediately took off for the bathroom, leaving Kun to trail behind.

Taeyong let Dowoon down and the boy took off to the living room. Johnny made to follow him but Taeyong grabbed his arm first. "He doesn't talk much, but we've been teaching him some sign," he said quietly. Johnny nodded and followed the boy into the living room.

Kun walked back downstairs to find Dowoon sitting in the living room with Johnny. "He warmed up fast," he commented. He was pleasantly surprised that Dowoon had been willing to go with Johnny so quickly, especially considering how shy the toddler was.

"Dowoonie's shy but he likes to have someone to play with," Taeyong said with a shrug, "he can't quite keep up with the other two so if Johnny's offering, then Dowoonie will play."

Kun nodded in understanding. He watched the pair play until the two older boys came thundering down the stairs. He followed them into the kitchen so he could help them get into their seats.

"Yah, Seo Youngho!" Taeyong called as he was trying to wrestle Jisung back into his chair, "are you two gonna come eat or not?"

Chenle could barely sit still through dinner and only the prospect of dessert kept him downstairs. After they had eaten, everyone moved into the living room to exchange presents and the boys were finally released to go play with their new toys.

Johnny and Brian managed to connect almost immediately over being transplants in opposite directions. That left Taeyong and Jae on the couch with Jisung and Dowoon while the two older boys played on the floor. "So how has the first Christmas been?" Jae asked.

Kun sat himself in the armchair and watched Chenle and Wonpil play. He was glad that the two boys got along so well and he hoped they ended up at the same school. Even though Chenle would be a grade below it would be nice if he already knew someone.

"It's been amazing," Taeyong said, "it's so different from how it was with Lele. You can tell Sungie's just so amazed by everything. Isn't that right, bug?" He stood the baby on his lap, bouncing his knees carefully.

"'Bug?' How did you earn yourself that nickname?" Jae asked, reaching over to tickle the baby's cheek. Kun turned his attention towards Jisung and smiled softly. He couldn't tell if the baby was more interested in the older boys playing or the lights on the Christmas tree they had set up.

"I think we just started calling him that one day," Taeyong said with a small shrug. He couldn't really remember what had sparked it, just that it was fitting.

"It's cute," Jae commented. Kun settled back in his seat and sighed contently. It was weird to think about how different Christmas was for them last year. He wouldn't trade where they were now for the world, but he couldn't help but miss Ten.

"Hopefully, Yuta and Tennie will be able to make the trip next year," Taeyong said wistfully. He hoped Mark, Donghyuck, and Renjun would be able to travel out at some point too.

Kun looked over at his fiancé and smiled sadly. "Hopefully," he said quietly. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing while the fire they had lit earlier slowly died down. Once Jae, Brian, and the boys had taken their leave, Kun helped Chenle get ready for bed. The boy was exhausted from playing with his new toys all day.

"Did you have a good Christmas, Lele?" Taeyong asked, standing in the doorway of the boy's bedroom with Jisung drifting to sleep in his arms.

Chenle nodded slowly in response. "Baba, I still want to play," he said, punctuating his sentence with a yawn. Kun chuckled quietly. "All your toys will be here when you wake up, I promise. Now get some sleep," he said. He leaned down and gently kissed his son's forehead. "Good night, Lele."

Taeyong blew Chenle a kiss before leaving the boy to sleep. He settled the drowsy baby in his crib and gave him a good night kiss as well.

Kun opened the top drawer of his nightstand and pulled out an envelope. He was excited to give Taeyong his present this year and had been waiting all day for them to have a moment alone together. They hadn't had the chance to take proper engagement photos so he had found a professional photographer that was willing to do a shoot for them and even photograph their wedding.

Once the baby was down and the monitor was on, Taeyong returned to the bedroom to find Kun sitting on the bed with an envelope. "Wait, I have something for you too," he said, grabbing a small box out of his nightstand.

"Oh, babe," Kun said fondly, "I want you to open yours first though." He extended his hand towards Taeyong; he was practically buzzing with excitement.

"Alright, alright," Taeyong said, setting the box in his lap so he could take the envelope from Kun. He pulled the folded piece of paper out and opened it to read what was typed on it. "Is this for real?" he asked, looking up at Kun with a wide smile, "this is amazing, Kunnie, thank you!"

"Yes, it's for real," Kun said excitedly, "they are even willing to shoot the wedding for us if we like them." He was ecstatic that Taeyong liked the gift. He always got nervous for his fiancé's birthday and Christmas because he never knew if his gifts were good enough.

"This is perfect, Kun-ah," Taeyong said, smiling softly as he slipped the paper back into the envelope, "if they're good, maybe we can get them to do pictures of Jisung for his birthday too."

"That would be really cute," Kun said happily. He already knew Chenle was quite the little model, and hopefully his brother would follow in his footsteps.

"Alright, alright, your turn," Taeyong said. His hands shook as he passed the box over to Kun.

Kun steadied Taeyong's shaking hands with one of his own and took the box with the other. He gently squeezed his fiancé's hand before letting go so he could open the box. He gasped quietly when he saw the gold ring sitting inside. "Oh my God, Tae, it's gorgeous," he breathed. He carefully pulled the ring out so he could get a closer look.

"I figured you should have a ring too," Taeyong said nervously, "there's no reason that only I get one and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to be just a little possessive."

Kun smiled widely. “I love it, babe. It’s perfect,” he said sincerely, “will you do the honors?” He held the ring out to his fiancé and extended his hand.

Taeyong carefully took the ring and slid it onto Kun's finger. Once it was securely in place, he leaned over and kissed his fiancé sweetly.

“Merry Christmas, Tae,” Kun whispered. He kissed his fiancé back happily. This Christmas had turned out to be more perfect than he could have imagined.


	37. Chapter 37

If Christmas was perfect, the next few months were even better. They went through the photoshoot and ended up rehiring the photographer to take photos of Jisung for his birthday. By the time the boy's birthday actually rolled around, they had the pictures in hand and were passing them out to everyone.

They had mailed pictures to Ten, Yuta, and Johnny earlier so they would arrive around Jisung’s birthday and luckily they were right on time. “I got a text from Tennie,” Kun told Taeyong excitedly, “they really liked the pictures.”

"That's great!" Taeyong said, "did he say anything about how he and Yuta are doing?" He had told Kun about their problems once Johnny had gone home and they'd been checking in periodically.

Kun sighed softly. “From the sound of it, they’re pretty much all settled into Osaka. Things seem to be okay with Johnny too. Oh and he did tell me that Jaeminnie is doing good.”

"Baba, when is Pillie coming?" Chenle whined as he trotted into the kitchen. Taeyong glanced at the clock. "In an hour or so," he said, crouching down to Chenle's level, "did you clean up your toys like I asked you to?"

“No,” Chenle mumbled, dropping his eyes to the floor, “but I’m still playing!” He really didn’t want to get in trouble. Besides him and Wonpil were going to play with all the toys later so why bother putting them away?

"Can you go upstairs and put everything away for me, please?" Taeyong asked, "I don't want to have to put you in time out before everyone comes over."

Chenle’s eyes widened and he looked up at Taeyong. “Baba, I don’t need time out,” he whined.

"Then go clean your room, please," Taeyong said, "if I come up there in ten minutes and it's not cleaned up, you're gonna be in trouble."

Chenle gasped quietly and turned around to run back upstairs. Kun sighed softly and turned his attention back to Jisung, who was having more fun playing with his sweet potatoes than eating them.

"Can you talk to him and make sure he and Wonpil try to include Dowoonie today?" Taeyong asked Kun. One reprimand of Chenle was enough for him for the day.

“Yeah absolutely. That’ll give him some good practice with his signs,” Kun said. They had been reteaching Chenle a lot of signs and the boy definitely needed some practice with them.

"Thanks, babe," Taeyong said. He didn't like needing to reprimand Chenle, but he could tell that Dowoon was feeling left out lately.

When Chenle came back downstairs Kun gently asked him to include Dowoon in whatever he and Wonpil decided to play. The toddler readily agreed and to Kun’s pleasure was very good about keeping his promise when the Kang crew arrived. The three boys stayed in the living room playing together and until they brought out a small cake to sing to Jisung.

Taeyong helped Jisung stand up and hold onto the coffee table as Kun set the cake down. They sang to him and Taeyong helped him blow out the candle. The baby yelled happily, not knowing what was going on but loving the excitement and attention.

Kun smiled fondly and reached over to gather some frosting on his finger. He smudged some on Jisung’s nose. The baby giggled and reached up to wipe it off. “Me too, baba, me too!” Chenle said excitedly. Kun smudged the rest of the frosting onto Chenle’s nose before licking his finger clean.

Taeyong wiped the frosting off of Jisung's cheek and let the baby suck it off of his finger. "Is it good, Sungie?" he asked.

Jisung hummed happily and looked up at Taeyong expectantly when the frosting was gone. Kun had begun cutting pieces of cake for everyone and had Chenle help him hand them out.

"I think Sungie wants some more," Taeyong said, "can you cut him a little piece?"

“Sure,” Kun agreed easily. He cut a small piece of cake for the baby and put it in front of him. “There ya go, ‘Sung.”

Taeyong spoon fed the tiny piece of cake to the baby, trying to keep him as clean as possible. He wasn't particularly successful but that was okay.

“Is the cake good boys?” Kun asked. He was met with several nods in response. The cake didn’t last long and soon the boys were back to playing with some new found energy.

Taeyong let Jisung hold himself up on the table while he helped Kun collect the plates. The baby wiggled where he stood, looking around at all the action with interest.

“Do you want to come over here so you can watch the boys?” Kun asked. He extended a hand across the table to the baby, wondering if he would grab on.

Taeyong watched as the baby gripped tightly onto the edge of the table, slowly but sure wiggling his way over until he could reach Kun's hand.

Kun smiled widely when Jisung grabbed onto his hand. “Come on, Sungie, I know you can do it,” he said encouragingly. Between his hand and the coffee table, the baby would have plenty of support to walk over to him.

Jisung took his other hand off the table, stumbling a little before he managed to grab onto Kun. Taeyong surreptitiously pulled out his phone to start recording.

Kun reached out his other hand for Jisung to grab onto. “I won’t let you fall, baby, I promise,” he said quietly, “just a few steps and you’ll be able to sit with me. “

Jisung giggled as he wiggled his way over to Kun. When he finally toppled into his father's lap, he shrieked happily.

Kun smiled widely and smothered the baby in kisses. “All safe! I’m so proud of you, Bug. Before you know it you’re gonna be running around the house with Lele,” he said. He couldn’t believe how big the baby was already. It felt like they had just brought him home yesterday.

Taeyong smiled widely. It wasn't quite walking but it was certainly close enough. He couldn't believe how big his boy was already.

Once the boys had played for a little longer, the Kang crew took their leave. Kun passed Jisung back off to Taeyong so he could clean up the cake, help Chenle take a bath, and get the boy to bed.

Taeyong got Jisung cleaned up and down to sleep. He was sleeping longer now, which was fantastic for Taeyong's psyche.

Once Chenle was tucked in Kun got changed and headed to bed. He laid down next to Taeyong and pressed against his side. “I can’t believe Sungie is already a year old,” he mumbled.

"I know," Taeyong said quietly, "it's crazy how much has changed in this last year." Not only did they have a baby, but they also moved to an entirely new country. It was a wild year and yet he wouldn't go back at all.

“It’s amazing, but it feels like everything is going too fast. I kinda miss how things were when Sungie was smaller. Of course he’s still cute now, but I still keep thinking back to when we brought him home,” Kun said. He fiddled with the hem of Taeyong’s shirt absently. More and more often he had found himself thinking about when Jisung was smaller and had even toyed with the idea of another baby in the house. It would certainly be a lot, but he didn’t think it was anything they couldn’t handle.

"I know," Taeyong agreed, "as much work as it was, I miss those first few weeks. It was so amazing seeing every new development. Not that it isn't now, but it's different."

Kun hummed in agreement. He laid there quietly for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Hey, babe, what...what do you think about having another baby?” he asked slowly.

"We can't have a new baby every time we get sentimental," Taeyong said hesitantly. He wasn't quite against the idea, but it was a lot to consider.

Kun nodded slowly. “I know it would be a lot, but I think we can do it. We already know Lele’s an amazing big brother and I bet Sungie will be too,” he said, “we could always look into adopting again.”

"We could," Taeyong said, "I still have Sunyoung's number somewhere. But if we do try for another baby of our own, I'm not the one doing it this time." His body was still struggling to recover from Jisung.

Kun’s eyes widened. He knew it was only fair for him to be the one to carry the baby if they had another child of their own, but even just the thought of it terrified him. “Tae, I don’t think...” he trailed off knowing full well he didn’t have an argument.

"If you're not willing to do the hauling this time, then I'm not even going to consider it," Taeyong said seriously, "I love you, but pregnancy is so much, Kunnie."

Kun sighed softly. “It wouldn’t be fair of me to put you through that again just because I want another baby,” he said. He chewed on his lip harshly. His mind battled with itself, but he quickly realized his fear wasn’t justified when Taeyong had gone through hell and back to have Jisung.

Taeyong sighed. "It's not that scary, babe," he said softly, wrapping an arm around Kun's shoulders, "and it's so, so worth it."

Kun let out the breath he was holding and tucked his head into Taeyong’s neck. He really wanted another baby, but the thought of being pregnant terrified him.

"We don't have to have another baby of our own," Taeyong said gently, "we don't have to have another baby at all." Now that he was thinking of it, he didn't even think that, in all their years together, Kun had even ever bottomed for him. He wondered how much of that factored into his hesitation.

“I do want another baby, but you’re right; we need to think about it more. It’s a big decision that can’t be made it one night,” Kun said, “I would love to ask Chenle, but I know he’d be excited and we can’t afford that if we decide not to do this.”

Taeyong groaned internally. He hated it but he had to ask. "Do you think some of your hesitation might come from never having been...in that position before?" he asked, cringing.

Kun sucked in a breath. “I...no...it’s just that...,” he sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Taeyong, it was just that they had developed a rhythm to their relationship over the years and he wasn’t particularly fond of messing with it. “Yeah, that’s part of it,” he whispered after a moment.

"That's okay, baby," Taeyong reassured his fiancé. There was no crime in Kun being scared of something he didn't know. "Why don't we try that out a few times with protection and then you can decide?"

Kun nodded against Taeyong’s neck. “That sounds like a good idea,” he murmured. He felt himself begin to relax again and cuddled up to his fiancé more comfortably.

“I can ask Jae if they can take Lele for a night next weekend,” Taeyong suggested, “I think Jisungie will be fine to work around.”

“Mhm, that would work,” Kun said quietly, “It’ll be nice to have some alone time.” He had never been nervous for some time alone with Taeyong before, but he was trying to focus on the positives. It had been a while since he and fiancé had any time to themselves.

Taeyong hummed and pressed a kiss to Kun’s temple. “If you don’t like it, then we’ll explore other options, I promise,” he said.

Their weekend alone had gone much better than Kun expected. He was still hesitant about everything, but within a week he was much more confident and had even made up his mind. Once he found Taeyong, he wrapped himself around his fiancé’s back and rested his chin on his shoulder. “I think...I’m ready to try this for real,” he whispered, “I want another baby and I’m willing to do this.” He had thought about this for a few days, but he knew this was the right decision.

Taeyong smiled softly as he turned in Kun’s arms. “Are you absolutely sure?” he asked. He knew Kun wasn’t one to get pressured into things, but he still needed the reassurance.

“I’m positive,” Kun assured. He leaned closer to kiss Taeyong gently for extra confirmation.

Taeyong kissed Kun back firmly. The boys were both in bed so they had a little time to enjoy themselves.

Kun tilted his head to deepen the kiss, but he didn’t get to enjoy it for long before his phone rang. He pulled away from Taeyong and frowned when he saw his father’s name cross the screen. He sighed and picked up the phone from his nightstand. “Hello?” he answered hesitantly; his father never called him. He listened for a few moments and felt his heart drop when his father explained why he had called. His knees buckled and he was grateful that he was near the bed so he could sit down.

Taeyong grew worried when Kun’s face went ashen and he took a hard seat on the bed. He quickly sat next to his fiancé, holding his free hand tightly.

“Dad, I-I can’t come home,” Kun whispered. “Is this how you’re repaying us? After everything we’ve done for you, you can’t make the trip home?” his father replied angrily, “I knew it. You’re picking your new family over us. I don’t even know why I thought you would care.“ “No, dad, that’s not it,” Kun said quickly, but the line was already dead. He tossed the phone to the side and buried his head in his free hand, not knowing what to think.

“Kunnie? Baby, what’s wrong?” Taeyong asked. He rubbed his fiancé’s back. What call could Kun have possibly gotten to upset him so much?

“My mom,” Kun replied shakily, “she...she had a stroke and she’s not doing g-good.” He could barely force himself through the sentence. He tried desperately to think of a way he could go home, but it wasn’t possible. Taking a deep breath, he forced back a sob, but he knew he wouldn’t last much longer without breaking down.

“Oh my god, baby, I’m so sorry,” Taeyong said quietly, “what can I do? How can I help? Plane tickets, packing?”

Kun shook his head. “We both know I can’t go, Tae,” he said, voice thick. His chest tightened and he felt like he could barely breathe. He hadn’t regretted moving to the States until this moment.

Logically, Taeyong knew that. If Kun was to go home, he might never be able to get back into the States. His first instinct, however, was to get his fiancé as close to his mom as he could. “Has she woken up?” he asked quietly.

Kun shook his head, unable to form any words. With his father angry at him, there was no way to get any further updates, which made the situation that much worse. Taking a shaky breath, he pulled his head out of his hands and buried it in Taeyong’s neck instead. He just needed to be close to his fiancé.

Taeyong hugged his fiancé. He was at a loss about what to do. “Call your dad back tomorrow,” he said, “I’m sure he’s worried and scared and that he’ll be more understanding once you explain the situation.” At the very least, he hoped Kun’s father would continue giving them updates. Kun deserved that much at least. “We’ll send your next few paychecks their way too, okay?”

Kun nodded slowly. He was doing his best to keep it together, but it was no use. A sob escaped his lips, and he simply wasn’t strong enough to hold the rest back. He didn’t mean to breakdown in his fiancé’s arms, but he couldn’t stop himself.

Taeyong held his fiancé, letting Kun get everything out. Once his fiancé was mostly quiet, he spoke again. “I think you should call out of work tomorrow,” he said softly, “that way we can sit down and make a solid plan.”

Kun nodded again. “I’ll email my boss,” he said meekly. That could wait until later. For now he didn’t want to move from where he was sitting, securely wrapped in his fiancé’s arms.

Taeyong rolled his eyes and reached to grab Kun’s phone. He typed up an email and let Kun read over it before sending it off to his boss. He’d rather his fiancé not get written up for calling out late.

Kun sniffed loudly. “Thanks, babe,” he mumbled miserably. He felt like he was in a fog; he didn’t know what to think or what to do. He just felt so...lost.

“Just try to get some sleep, babe,” Taeyong said, “I’ll take baby duty tonight and we’ll figure everything out in the morning, okay?” Kun usually got up with Jisung if he woke during the night, since Taeyong was with him all day, but he figured he could sacrifice some sleep tonight.

“No, that’s not fair. I can still check on him if he wakes up,” Kun said. He felt guilty about Taeyong possibly having to wake up in the middle of the night to check on Jisung.

“No,” Taeyong said firmly, “get some sleep. He’s barely up at night anymore anyway.”

Kun sighed. There was no reason to argue so he laid down instead. He wrapped an arm around his pillow and buried his face in it.

Taeyong finally laid down. He wrapped himself around Kun and his pillow, trying to act as a protective barrier between his fiancé and everything. It wasn’t often that Kun really seemed that much younger than him, but tonight was definitely one of those nights.

Kun relaxed against Taeyong. He wasn't able to get much sleep, but that didn't come as a surprise. He was woken up for good the following morning when Chenle came into the room and bounced on their bed. "Baba, you're home!" the boy exclaimed excitedly. Kun baba was never home with them during the week.

Taeyong was glad he managed to intercept the toddler before he bounced all over Kun. “Lele, you need to be quiet, okay?” he said softly, “Kun baba didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Chenle fell quiet immediately. "Is baba sick?" he whispered, looking up at Taeyong nervously.

“Not quite,” Taeyong said softly, “but he’s really sad about something so we need to be extra nice to him today.”

Chenle nodded. He carefully scooted across the gap and hugged Kun's back as best he could. Kun sighed softly and blinked away the tears that had gathered in the corner of his eyes before rolling over. He wrapped Chenle in his arms and pulled his son against him.

Taeyong sighed sadly and rubbed Kun’s back. He hated seeing his fiancé so upset. Hopefully, his mother would get better.

Chenle was an angel throughout the whole day. Not that he wasn't an already amazing kid, but he was on his best behavior. Kun tried to distract himself by playing with Chenle, but even his son's bright smile and happy giggles weren't quite enough. When the toddler went down for his afternoon nap, Kun went to find Taeyong and Jisung.

Taeyong was in the middle of feeding Jisung when Kun trudged into the kitchen. “You should try to call your dad now,” he said as the younger man sat down.

Kun froze. He knew it was the best thing to do, but what if it completely backfired on him? "I-I don't want to make things worse," he whispered. He was absolutely terrified and he knew his wavering voice gave him away.

“You should at least check in,” Taeyong said, “the less you know, the more upset you’re gonna be.”

Kun nodded slowly. He pushed himself up from the table and went upstairs into the bedroom. If this went downhill at least he could be alone for a few minutes. With shaky hands he picked up the phone and dialed his father's number. He sat down on the bed and waited with bated breath. It took him a minute to register the husky "hello?" that floated through the phone. "Dad, I...how..." Kun took a breath to compose himself, "I'm sorry I can't be there for you, but please know that I would come home if I could."

Taeyong finished feeding Jisung and got him cleaned up. He let the baby sit on the counter while they waited for Kun to come back.

Kun quietly explained why he couldn't come home and was grateful that his father no longer seemed angry at him. His relief quickly disappeared when his father explained everything that had happened. Kun had to bite his lip hard to keep himself quiet when he heard that his mother still wasn’t awake. This phone call was the first time Kun had ever heard his father's voice shake with something other than anger.

Once Taeyong realized that Kun wasn’t coming back down, he scooped up Jisung and headed upstairs. Kun looked like he was about to start crying again and Taeyong sighed.

Kun looked up when Taeyong entered the room. He tried to muster a small smile, but it was no use. After confirming his father would keep him updated, he hung up the phone and tossed it to the side. "I wish I could be there for them," he whispered. This was the hardest part about being an only child.

"Why don't you get in touch with Jun?" Taeyong suggested, "he can go help them out and keep you updated too."

Kun chewed on his lip. He had thought about calling Jun, but he didn’t think it was fair to get his friend involved in this. It certainly would help his parents out immensely to have Jun there. With a soft sigh he reached for his phone and typed out a message to his friend, explaining to call him when he had the chance.

Taeyong knew that Jun - and probably Yanan and Minghao as well - would have no problem checking in on Kun's parents and helping Kun's dad out as much as they could. He could see that closeness when they had first met.

Kun put his phone back on the bed and pushed himself up from the bed. He walked over to his fiancé and son. "Hi, bug," he whispered, tickling the baby's cheek. He wanted to at least try to take advantage of the day he had home with his family.

Taeyong smiled and set the baby on the bed so that Kun could lay down while they played. Jisung gurgled happily and immediately tried to shove his foot in his mouth. "Sungie, that's icky," Taeyong said, moving to rescue the appendage.

Kun laid down next to his son and smiled softly. "Oh, 'Sung, that can't taste very good," he said. He looked back up at Taeyong. "I can keep an eye on him if you need a break."

"No, I'm okay," Taeyong said, "I'd rather spend time with the both of you." He tickled Jisung's tummy, sending the baby into a fit of giggles.

Kun rolled onto his stomach and pillowed his arms on his hands so he could watch his boys. Jisung's laughter was contagious and Kun found his smile widening ever so slightly. When Chenle woke up from his nap a little while later, he plodded into the room and over to Kun's side of the bed. "Hi, Lele," Kun whispered, helping the toddler climb onto the bed.

Taeyong let Chenle settle in his lap. The boy was still sleepy so he was a bit clingy, but he started playing with Jisung more as he woke up.

Kun watched his boys play together, and he forced his mind not to wander. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone started ringing, and he pulled himself out of bed to answer it. He didn't even need to look at the name on the screen to know who it was. "Hey, Jun," he greeted, stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind him.

Taeyong sighed and pulled Jisung’s foot out of his mouth again. The baby sputtered and started making noises. They were sort of syllables but not quite words yet. “Why’s baba sad?” Chenle asked.

"Kun, what's going on?" Jun asked nervously the minute the line connected. Kun sighed softly and explained the whole situation to his friend. He managed to make it through everything with his voice only breaking once, which he considered a small success in it's own. "I know it's not fair to ask you to do this-," Kun began, but he was cut off. "I'll go see them when I get out of work today," Jun said.

“You remember when we went to China and met Kun baba’s parents?” Taeyong asked and was met with a nod, “his mama got very sick and Kun baba can’t go see her, so he’s sad.”

"Thank you, Jun. Can you...can you keep me updated too?" Kun asked slowly, "I'm not sure how much my father will tell me." "Of course," Jun replied immediately, "take care of yourself and I'll keep an eye on your parents." Kun sighed softly. "You are a Godsend; thank you," he said softly. After bidding his friend goodbye, Kun stepped back into the bedroom.

Jisung looked up when the bedroom door opened again. "Ba!" he shouted happily.

Kun paused when he entered the room; this was the closest Jisung had come to forming a full word since he had started babbling. "Hi, bug. Do you need something?" he asked softly.

“Are you talking, baby?” Taeyong asked with a smile. He lifted the boy to his feet and Jisung reached out for Kun with a whine.

"Oh, I'm right here, baby," Kun said softly. He walked to the bed and picked up Jisung. "What's the whining for huh?"

“Ba!” Jisung shouted happily once he was in Kun’s arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around his baba’s neck.

"Hi, Sungie," Kun whispered. He rounded the bed and sat down. Carefully, he repositioned Jisung on his lap so he could hold his son closely.

Taeyong laid down on his stomach and pressed a kiss to Jisung’s cheek. “Such a big boy, Sungie,” he said.

Kun smiled softly. He carefully laid down with Jisung spread out across his chest. The baby didn't fit nearly as well as he used to, but Kun wasn't quite ready to let him go just yet. He wrapped a protective arm around his son. "Soon you're gonna be chatting away just like Lele; isn't that right, Sungie?" he asked softly.

Chenle pouted. He loved his brother but he liked attention too. “Baba,” he whined, “I wanna play.”

Kun turned his head to look at Chenle. The toddler had really mastered his pout over the years. "Come here, Lele," he said, reaching out for his older son.

“No, I wanna play,” Chenle said stubbornly, “no snuggles!”

Kun sighed softly. “What do you want to play, Lele?” he asked. He hoped the toddler would be satisfied playing something with Jisung.

“Cars!” Chenle said loudly. Jisung whimpered on Kun’s chest. He was starting to get tired and Chenle’s excitement was too much for him.

“Easy, Sungie, it’s okay,” Kun whispered. He rubbed the baby’s back soothingly. “I’ll meet you in your room in a few minutes, Lele, and we can play cars.” He had to admit he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of getting out of bed, but he knew the distraction of playing with Chenle would be good for him.

“Here, let me take Sungie,” Taeyong said lifting the baby from Kun’s chest. He too was in need of a nap, so it all worked out perfectly.

Chenle eagerly leapt off of the bed and raced into his room. Kun was sure to give Jisung and Taeyong a kiss before following the rowdy Chenle down the hall.


	38. Chapter 38

A few more weeks passed. Kun’s mother’s condition hadn’t changed much one way or the other, so he and Taeyong were continuing to try for a baby if only to distract themselves. Currently, Taeyong was home alone with the boys, playing with Jisung in the living room while Chenle played upstairs.

Chenle was bored. It wasn’t fun playing all by himself upstairs. He wanted to play with Taeyong baba. Jisung was fun, but he missed just having his father to play with. Deciding to take matters into his own hands he grabbed his cars and headed downstairs. “Baba, will you play with me?” he asked loudly.

“Sure, baby,” Taeyong said with a smile, “come sit with us and you can show Jisungie how to play with your cars.”

“No, I wanna play with just you,” Chenle whined. Whenever he wanted to play they all always had to play together. Jisung got to play with Taeyong alone so why couldn’t he?

“Lele, you know I can’t leave Jisungie on his own,” Taeyong said with a sigh. “He could get into things that aren’t safe for him.”

“But, baba, you never just play we me anymore,” Chenle whined, louder this time. He dropped his cars to the floor and crossed his arms. It was always Jisungie this, Jisungie that. What about him?

“I play with you when Jisungie’s napping,” Taeyong said. He knew that he gave Jisung a lot of attention, but Chenle was a big boy now and he needed to learn to be independent.

“It’s not fair!” Chenle cried. “I want to play with you _ now _ .” Even when Jisung was napping, Taeyong had the baby monitor practically glued to his hand. Chenle barely got attention anymore.

“Lele, you’re a big boy now,” Taeyong said, turning to give the boy his full attention but keeping a hand on Jisung’s leg just in case, “that means you get to be more independent and do stuff on your own. Jisungie needs a lot more help than you do because he doesn’t know what things aren’t safe.”

Chenle huffed and turned around to go back upstairs, leaving his cars on the floor. “Kun baba will play with me when he gets home,” he said. He stomped loudly up the stairs, making sure Taeyong knew how angry he was.

“Indoor volume!” Taeyong called over his shoulder. Although he didn’t like it, it was okay that Chenle was mad at him. The boy needed to learn how to work through these strong emotions. Kun would be home soon enough anyway.

Chenle turned around to stick his tongue out at Taeyong and kept stomping all the way to his room. Taeyong wouldn’t leave Jisung to come yell at him anyway. With an angry sigh, Chenle sat in the middle of the room with his loudest toy, pressing the buttons over and over until Kun got home.

Jisung was just starting to fall asleep when Kun got home. Taeyong immediately clued the younger man in on what had happened and sent him to go deal with Chenle while he got Jisung to sleep.

Kun slowly went upstairs to Chenle’s room. He knocked quietly on the door. “Lele, I’m home,” he said before pushing the door open and walking into the room, “what happened today, baby?”

It took a few minutes to get the clingy boy off of him, but Taeyong finally got Jisung to sleep. Once he did so, he immediately went to Chenle’s room.

Kun sat himself on the floor next to Chenle so he could talk to his son. The boy narrowed his eyes when Taeyong walked in the room. Chenle crawled into Kun’s lap and clung onto his younger father tightly. “I just wanted to play,” he wailed miserably.

Taeyong stopped in the doorway, listening to his fiancé’s conversation with their son. He didn’t want to barge in on the moment and clam Chenle up.

“You can play, baby. Taeyong baba and Jisungie always want to play with you,” Kun said. “I don’t want Jisung. I want Taeyong baba!” Chenle said. “Oh, Lele, you know Taeyong baba has to keep an eye on Jisungie until he gets a little bit bigger,” Kun said gently. “It’s not fair!” Chenle cried, bursting into tears.

Taeyong felt his own eyes welling up. He hated making his baby upset. Jisung may be the younger one, the one that truly needed attention and assistance, but Chenle would always be his baby boy, his first son. Nothing should come between that.

“Taeyong baba can play with you when Jisungie is asleep,” Kun said. He was met with a loud “no” and an even tighter grip on his shirt. “You’re going to have to wait just a little bit longer until Jisungie is bigger and then Taeyong baba can play with you during the day,” Kun said. He rocked back and forth trying to calm Chenle down. “I don’t want a sibling anymore! I want to play with Taeyong baba now,” Chenle wailed between sobs.

Taeyong’s heart clenched and he frowned, biting his lip. Maybe trying for another baby wasn’t such a good idea right now. Maybe, once Chenle was a little older and a little more independent, it would be better. Without realizing it, he had started crying.

“Oh, Lele, don’t say that,” Kun said. “No! I don’t want Jisungie anymore,” Chenle said. He pushed against Kun’s chest so he could stand up. He froze when he saw Taeyong still standing in the doorway.

“Kunnie, I’m gonna go lay down for a bit without my ears,” Taeyong said with a tight smile. He wasn’t really all that tired, but he needed to space to think.

“Okay, babe,” Kun replied. He snuck a quick glance at his fiancé and sighed sadly. Chenle watched Taeyong leave with sad eyes. He collapsed onto the floor and sniffed loudly. “Does Taeyong baba still love me?” he asked sadly. Kun’s chest tightened. “Of course he does, baby. We both love you very much and nothing will ever change that,” he said, reaching out to pull his son back into his lap.

Taeyong sighed and sniffled as he flopped into bed. He fought to keep the tears from spilling, but it was a losing battle. He hadn’t realized that Chenle felt so ignored and, thinking back, he could see why the boy felt that way.

Chenle clung onto his father tightly. He sobbed loudly and wiped his nose on Kun’s shirt. Kun’s heart broke. He wished he could be home to give Chenle the love and attention he deserved, but it simply wasn’t plausible. “Taeyong baba and I love you very much and we both love playing with you. It makes us sad when we can’t play alone with you too,” he said. It wasn’t a lie. He hated that he barely had any time to devote to his family.

Taeyong didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t just ignore Jisung’s needs, but he also couldn’t ignore Chenle’s either. He didn’t know how to explain to his older son that the baby couldn’t do things on his own.

Chenle didn’t respond so Kun continued. “We don’t mean to ignore you. Jisungie just needs more help because he’s not big and strong like you yet. Soon he will be and we’ll all be able to play with you,” he assured. Chenle had stopped openly sobbing, but he still sniffed loudly every few minutes.

Taeyong still hear Chenle crying from down the hall and it made his heart ache. He hated himself for hurting his baby boy.

“Do you want to play now?” Kun asked slowly. Chenle shook his head adamantly and clung on tighter. Kun knew he needed to check on Taeyong soon, but he also knew his fiancé needed some time. He just hoped Jisung would be asleep for a while. “Let’s go start dinner then,” he said, pulling himself to his feet and hoisting Chenle into his arms.

Taeyong was endlessly grateful for Kun and his ability to remedy any problem. Once he and Chenle had gone downstairs, he finally took out his hearing aids. For once, he appreciated the silence and tried to actually fall asleep.

It was a bit hard to cook with one hand, but luckily Chenle perked up quickly. He was still quiet when Kun helped him onto his stool, but at least he wasn’t crying anymore. Once the food was done, Kun went upstairs to get Jisung. He was greeted with a wide smile and an excited gurgle. He knew Taeyong wouldn’t want to eat so he carried the baby downstairs. Chenle visibly deflated when Kun carried his brother into the room and busied himself tracing the pictures on his placemat.

Taeyong wasn’t surprised that he slept right through dinner. He’d woken up briefly for some reason, but immediately fallen back asleep.

Kun somehow managed to get both boys fed, bathed, and in bed without any further incidents. Chenle was clingy and refused to go down on his own, but Kun didn’t mind letting the boy fall asleep in his arms. Once he was tucked into bed, Kun made his way into his own bedroom to find Taeyong.

Taeyong woke up again when the bed sunk with Kun’s weight. He still felt horrible about upsetting Chenle and now he had a headache too. With a whine, he buried his face in his fiancé’s stomach. He didn’t really want to talk.

Kun rubbed Taeyong’s back gently. He didn’t want to upset his fiancé anymore so he stayed quiet, simply offering comfort until he fell back asleep.

“Maybe we should stop trying,” Taeyong mumbled finally. He was glad he couldn’t see or hear Kun’s reaction; he knew his fiancé would be disappointed.

Kun sighed sadly. As much as he wanted another baby, it probably wasn’t a good idea right now. If Chenle was this upset because of Jisung, he didn’t want to think how he’d react to a new baby.

“I love Jisung and I would love a new baby, but I feel so guilty for hurting Lele,” Taeyong continued sadly, “I don’t want him to feel like he’s being replaced.”

Kun knew Taeyong couldn’t hear him so he scratched his back in some semblance of acknowledgement. The last thing he wanted to do was make Chenle more upset than he clearly already was. Kun was more than happy with the beautiful family he had and vowed to focus more of his energy on all of them so no one felt ignored.

Taeyong knew this would pass for both him and Chenle within a few days, but he vowed to give his older son a more equal share of his attention. It was only fair.

Kun moved his hand to Taeyong’s hair and slowly combed his fingers through the soft locks. He hoped that would help lull his fiancé back to sleep; he certainly needed his rest.

Taeyong sighed deeply and let himself fall victim to Kun’s ministrations. He would feel better after he slept, he told himself, it would all be okay.

Kun waited until he heard Taeyong’s breathing even out. He finally let his own eyes fall closed and drifted off to sleep. He was wasn’t quite sure how long he was asleep for, but he was woken up in the early hours of the morning by Chenle tapping his cheek. “Baba, I can’t sleep,” he whined quietly. Kun sighed. Any other night he would have sent Chenle back to his room, but he knew he couldn’t do that today. “Come here, Lele,” he said. The boy eagerly climbed into the bed and tucked himself into Kun’s side.

Taeyong woke up to the bed shifting and wasn’t surprised to see Chenle laying next to Kun. “Here, baby, come in the middle,” he said sleepily, “we don’t want you to fall.”

Chenle looked at Taeyong with big eyes. “Go ahead, Lele,” Kun said gently. The toddler hesitantly climbed over Kun and stayed pressed as close as possible to his side as he could.

Taeyong reached out and rubbed Chenle’s back once the boy settled down. “What’s wrong, babe?” he asked gently.

“I can’t sleep,” Chenle mumbled. He buried his face in Kun’s side, trying to hide. He really didn’t want to get in trouble for waking his fathers up.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry,” Taeyong said, having caught the movement of Chenle’s mouth in the moonlight.

Chenle braved peeking his head out to look at Taeyong. “Not mad?” he asked hesitantly. He knew he wasn’t supposed to come in here in the middle of the night, but he couldn’t help it.

“Of course not, baby,” Taeyong said softly, “baba and I are always here to help you when you need it.”

Chenle sniffed quietly. He stayed pressed against Kun’s side, but reached a hand out to Taeyong. Kun was already half asleep again, but he forced himself to stay awake until both of his boys were settled.

Taeyong reached out and held Chenle’s hand tightly. He smiled softly, glad his baby was relaxing again.

Chenle sighed contently and laid down. Not more than a few minutes later, he was fast asleep, happily tucked between his fathers.

“He’s so perfect,” Taeyong said softly. Chenle’s fingers relaxed around his and he smiled gently. He missed spending time with his baby.

Kun nodded and looked down at his sleeping son. “He really is,” he murmured in agreement. It was moments like these when Kun realized that no matter how much Chenle grew he would always be their baby. He let his eyes fall closed and drifted off to sleep, a soft smile on his lips.

A few weeks later found Taeyong and Kun at the doctor’s office and for once, it wasn’t Taeyong on the table. They had ultimately decided to continue trying for another baby. Despite how frequently they’d been trying and how frequently they’d been checking, Kun still hadn’t had a test come back positive, so they wanted to make sure everything was okay.

Kun sat quietly, eyes on his hands that were resting in his lap. It felt weird that he was the one on the table, but he didn't have time to worry about that for long before the doctor came into the room. He took a deep breath and finally braved looking up.

“The urinalysis came back clean,” the doctor said as he entered the room, “we’re still waiting on the blood labs, but those should be back in a few minutes. In the meantime, can you think of anything that might be causing you large amounts of stress?”

Kun took a moment before nodding slowly. "My mom has been really sick for the past month or so and I haven't been able to visit her," he replied. He had been worried sick about his mother ever since he got the first phone call, and it definitely had been a stressful several weeks to say the least.

The doctor nodded and wrote something on his notepad. “Anything else?” he asked. Taeyong glanced at Kun. “He hasn’t been able to spend as much time at home with our sons as he did in Korea,” he added, “and we haven’t seen any of our friends or family in months, which is stressful for us.”

Kun nodded along as Taeyong spoke. "But all of this shouldn't matter...right?" he asked. Going into this appointment he had expected to find out that something was physically wrong with him, not discuss the stressors in his life.

“Stress can have negative physical impacts on your body,” the doctor explained, “we just want to make sure we’re exploring all the easy answers so we don’t send you through all this expensive testing just to find a point blank answer that was there the whole time.”

"Oh, I see," Kun mumbled before dropping his eyes again. "And if it stress? There's nothing I can do about what's going on so there has to be something else I can try." He didn't know why he was so surprised that his problem could be due to stress, especially considering he already experienced the negative effects of stress when he suffered from the bout of exhaustion.

“If it’s stress that’s preventing you from carrying, I would advise against continuing to try with you as the carrier,” the doctor said, “if you do manage to conceive, the stress could negatively impact the fetus, so I would wait until some of it has resolved.”

Kun sighed sadly. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Taeyong; he didn’t think he could handle the disappointment he was sure was written across the older man’s face. He still wanted another baby, but the risk of harming them was simply too great. Maybe it was best if they waited until after the wedding so everything could have a chance to calm down.

Taeyong gripped Kun’s hand tightly. He hated seeing his fiancé so upset. He knew how much Kun wanted another baby and he resolved then and there to make it happen.

Kun let his finger's intertwine with Taeyong's and squeezed his hand gently. Since they had no more questions, the doctor excused himself until the bloodwork came back. They sat in silence until he came back, no more than fifteen minutes later. The labs also came back clean so Kun was sent home with the order to wait until he was less stressed to begin trying for a baby again. He asked Taeyong to drive them home knowing he didn't have enough focus.

Taeyong let Kun dwell on their drive, but took a detour to a cafe that they’d discovered recently and come to love. “C’mon, I bet hot chocolate will cheer you up,” he said.

“Tae, we have to get home to the boys,” Kun said quietly. He knew Taeyong wouldn’t listen to that excuse, but it was worth a shot. As much as he appreciated his fiancé and the moments alone they had, he just wanted to go home.

“No, we’re going to get hot chocolate and talk about this so you’re not stewing when we get home,” Taeyong said stubbornly. They had plenty of time before they needed to get the boy’s from Jae anyway.

“Fine,” Kun said quietly; he was in no mood to argue. He climbed out of the car and followed Taeyong inside. His fiancé knew what he usually ordered so he went to find an unoccupied table in the back corner of the cafe.

Taeyong ordered for them both and went to join Kun while he waited. “What are you thinking?” he asked softly, reaching out to hold his fiancé’s hand.

“It’s not worth the risk right now. I think we should wait to try again until after the wedding. That gives plenty of time for everything to hopefully calm down,” Kun replied, “besides, the baby fever might even be gone by then.”

Taeyong rubbed the back of Kun’s hand reassuringly. “I would be willing to try,” he said quietly.

Kun stared across the table at Taeyong for a moment. “No, Tae, that’s not...that’s not an option. It would be better for both of us once everything calms down anyway,” he said.

“No, baby, I...I want to,” Taeyong said, “I want another baby just as badly as you do.”

“We could look more into adopting again. By the time we’re able to bring the baby home, the wedding will be over and we’ll have plenty of time to devote to all of our kids,” Kun offered. Even though they both wanted another baby, it wasn’t fair in his eyes to put Taeyong through another pregnancy.

Taeyong sighed. “Honestly? I miss having that little connection,” he said quietly, “plus, I don’t even want to think about how adopting might impact our visas.”

Kun knew there was no arguing with Taeyong once his mind was made up, but this idea still didn’t sit well with him. “I think we need to take a little more time to really think this through,” he said.

“The only reason to say no is if we no longer want another baby,” Taeyong said quietly, “and I don’t think that’s the case for either of us.”

"I'm not going to deny the fact that I want another baby, but this isn't fair to you. You've even said it yourself," Kun said.

“That was weeks ago,” Taeyong said slowly, “I’ve had a lot of time to think and just...between your mom and our jobs and the kids, it makes the most logical sense for it to be me.”

"Just because it makes the most sense doesn't mean that's what we have to do. I don't want to put you in a position where you'll be unhappy," Kun said gently. He already felt guilty enough as it was and Taeyong offering to carry another baby for them was only making it worse.

“I won’t be unhappy,” Taeyong said gently, “I want this baby as much as you do and I don’t mind carrying again.” Sure, it sucked at times, but the end result was always worth it.

Kun sighed softly. He raised Taeyong's hand to his lips to gently kiss the back of it before pressing it against his cheek. "If you're really sure about this then...let's try," he whispered.

Taeyong smiled widely and kissed Kun on the lips just as the waitress came over with their drinks and the slice of tiramisu Taeyong had ordered. She set it down with a smile before scampering off.

“I love you,” Kun whispered. He gave Taeyong’s hand a gentle squeeze before letting go so he could take his drink in both hands.

“I love you too,” Taeyong said with a happy smile. He sipped at his cocoa, glad that they were still okay. 

“Now does having a bite of cake come with a price or is it free for the taking?” Kun asked teasingly. He was glad Taeyong had insisted they talked. It made him feel a lot better about everything; although he still had his reservations.

Taeyong smiled and used the fork to pick up a chunk of cake and hold it out to Kun. “Free of charge today,” he said.

Kun took the bite of cake and hummed happily. He picked up his cup of hot chocolate and sat back in his chair. When he met Taeyong’s eyes, he smiled softly. For the first time all day, he felt content with what was going on.

Taeyong smiled back. He scooped up another piece of cake for Kun. “Are you feeling a bit better now?”

Kun took a sip of cocoa before leaning forward again. “I am,” he replied softly, “thank you.” He took another bite of cake graciously.

“Of course,” Taeyong said with a smile, “Anything for my beautiful fiancé.”

“Tae...,” Kun whined. He dropped his eyes, knowing full well that wouldn’t hide the slight blush that spread across his cheeks.

Taeyong grinned cheekily. There was nothing he loved more than flustering Kun, except Kun himself.

Kun braved looking up and pouted when he saw Taeyong’s proud smile. He huffed and took a sip of hot chocolate, desperately trying not to smile.

Taeyong leaned over the table and kissed Kun again. “You had cream on your lip,” he said.

Kun hummed contently. “Are you sure you got it all?” he teased. It was weird being so affectionate in public, but he could get used to it.

“Hm, maybe I missed some,” Taeyong said, leaning over to kiss Kun again.

Kun smiled and happily kissed his fiancé back. “I think it’s time to go home now,” he whispered when he pulled away. He took the last sip of his hot chocolate and pushed the remaining tiramisu towards Taeyong to finish.

Taeyong smiled and quickly finished the tiramisu. He took the cocoa to go and held Kun’s hand all the way back to the car.

Kun gazed out the window the whole ride home, a content smile on his face. When they finally got home the first thing Kun did was scoop Chenle into his arms and hold him close. "Baba, what took you so long?" he asked.

“Kun baba and I went on a little date,” Taeyong answered for Kun as he put his jacket in the hall closet. He smiled at Chenle, leaning over to tickle the boy’s belly.

Chenle laughed loudly and did his best to escape Taeyong, but it was no use. Kun eventually put his son down, setting him free from the torment. He smiled softly at Taeyong before going to take Jisung from Jae. They thanked their friend profusely and after chatting for a few minutes, bid their goodbyes.

“Hi, Jisungie,” Taeyong said, tickling the baby’s belly with a smiling before heading to the kitchen to start dinner.

Kun followed Taeyong into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table. Jisung laid his head on his father's shoulder and gripped onto his shirt. A few minutes later Chenle skittered into the kitchen. He stood there looking between Taeyong and Kun. "Lele, can you help Taeyong baba with dinner tonight?" he asked. Chenle nodded and pushed his stool over to the counter.

“Hey, bud,” Taeyong said with a smile, “why don’t you go wash your hands first?”

Chenle huffed quietly and rushed off to the bathroom. He was back in record time, which was suspicious, but judging by his still dripping hands he at least made a valiant attempt. Jisung shifted slightly so he could bury his head in Kun's neck. Kun's free hand came up to rub the baby's back and he sighed quietly.

Taeyong dried Chenle’s hands with a towel then set the boy up to mix the various ingredients he put in the bowl. He was just going to make pancakes; breakfast for dinner was always fun.

Kun knew he should offer to help, but he also knew Taeyong and Chenle were more than capable to make dinner. Jisung was content to sleep against Kun's shoulder, obviously worn out from his day with Jae.

“Kunnie, can you help Lele set the table?” Taeyong asked when the pancakes were cooking on the griddle.

"Sure thing," Kun replied. Jisung whined quietly when Kun stood up, but quickly settled back down. With one hand, Kun passed Chenle the necessary utensils and let the boy run back and forth, setting the table slowly but surely. It was a very ineffective way of setting the table, but it helped the toddler get rid of some of his extra energy.

Taeyong piled the pancakes on a plate and shut off the griddle. He set the plate on the table and collected the syrup and butter to put out as well. Once that was done, he helped Chenle with the plates since they were heavy. “Alright, let’s eat!”

Kun carefully pried Jisung off of his shoulder. The baby blinked his eyes open tiredly and whined. He reached out for Kun, but his father went to put him in his highchair regardless. The moment he was sitting down, Jisung burst into tears. "Oh, Sungie, it's okay," Kun murmured. He scooped the baby back into his arms and let him lay back against his shoulder. He didn't like giving in, but he couldn't deal with a meltdown today.

“Here, I’ll take him, you eat,” Taeyong said, knowing Kun was exhausted. He gently lifted the baby out of his fiancé’s arms and laid him against his own shoulder, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Thanks, babe," Kun said gratefully. He ate slowly, and focused on making sure Chenle didn't get any syrup on himself. Surprisingly he was successful, which meant Chenle had a few minutes to play before bathtime, while he cleaned up the kitchen.

Taeyong had bullied Kun into cutting up his pancakes and ate one handed while still holding Jisung. The boy had fallen asleep, but he couldn’t put him back in his chair without waking him up. Once he was done eating, however, it was straight to bed. Or the couch. Wherever Taeyong laid down first.

Kun let Taeyong and Jisung rest, while he solicited Chenle's help once again. He washed all the dishes and wiped down the kitchen, knowing full well it wouldn't get done if he waited. After that he helped Chenle with his bath, letting the boy have extra time to play with some of his toys. Once he was cleaned, dried, and dressed, Kun sent him downstairs to wake up Taeyong. Chenle crept over to the couch quietly and tapped Taeyong's cheek gently. "Baba, it's bedtime," he whispered.

Taeyong woke slowly to a gentle tapping on his cheek. “Huh? Oh, Lele, what’s up, baby?” he asked tiredly, “need something?”

"It's bedtime," Chenle repeated quietly. He snuck a quick look at Jisung, making sure he didn't wake up his brother.

Taeyong groaned softly as he sat up. “Go get in bed, baby, I’ll be up in a minute to say good night,” he whispered. He readjusted Jisung in his arms so as to not wake the baby up.

Chenle turned around and raced upstairs. He leapt into bed careful to avoid Kun, who was sitting on the edge. “He’s coming,” he announced proudly. “Alright, baby. Go ahead and get under the covers,” Kun said, lifting them up so his son could crawl underneath.

Taeyong rubbed his eyes with his free hand before trudging upstairs. He got Jisung settled in his crib before finally venturing to Chenle’s room. “Did Kun baba tuck you in nice and tight, baby?”

Chenle smiled widely when Taeyong came into the room. He nodded in response and pulled the covers even higher up, so that all you could see was his head. Kun chuckled quietly and leaned over to kiss Chenle’s forehead before standing.

"Did you have a good day today with Jae and the boys?" Taeyong asked, moving over to sit on the edge of Chenle's bed. The boy nodded. "Missed you though," he mumbled.

Kun was glad the room was dark enough to hide his frown. He knew Chenle always missed them when they were gone, but it made him feel guilty today. “We missed you too, baby,” he whispered after a moment.

“Well, I’ll be with you all day tomorrow, how’s that?” Taeyong said. He leaned down to kiss the boy’s forehead.

Chenle nodded happily, yawning as he did so. He pulled one of his stuffed animals towards himself and held it close. That was the tell tale sign that the boy would be asleep within the next ten minutes.

Taeyong brushes Chenle’s hair out of his face. He would need a haircut soon. “Get some sleep, baby,” he said, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

"Good night, baba," Chenle whispered. Kun sighed softly and took Taeyong's hand in his own. After taking one last look at Chenle, he half guided, half pulled Taeyong towards their bedroom. He knew he was being clingy, but he wanted nothing more than to wrap himself around his fiancé and bury his face in his neck.

Taeyong smiled softly as he followed Kun to bed. “You’re very clingy,” he commented, “is everything okay?”

"I just want you," Kun mumbled in reply. He only let go of Taeyong's hand so he could climb into bed. Once he was laying down, he opened his arms for his fiancé. He forced a pout onto his lips so Taeyong wouldn't catch him frowning.

Taeyong smiled softly and all but collapsed on top of his fiancé. “I love you,” he whispered.

Kun grunted when Taeyong collapsed on him. He pulled his fiancé closer, if that was even possible. "I love you too," he said sincerely, pressing a kiss to Taeyong's forehead.

Taeyong sighed happily and settled into his fiancé's side. "I'm really happy now," he confessed.

The smile found its way back onto Kun's face. He was still trying to come to terms with the outcome of their day, but he was grateful that Taeyong was happy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Only a few more chapters left, folks!


	39. Chapter 39

That happiness only seemed to increase over the next few weeks as more of the plans for their wedding were coming together. One Saturday afternoon, while both boys were down for a nap, found them sitting at the kitchen table working out some last minute details.

Taeyong was going through all of the RSVP cards to get a final headcount for the caterer. "Hey, do you have Ten, Johnny, and Yuta's card over there?" he asked, "I can't find it." As far as he knew, they were planning on coming, since Jaemin would be eleven months and old enough to travel abroad.

Kun looked up from the list of songs he was going over. "No, I don't have any of the cards," he said slowly. He began picking up pieces of stray paper they had littering the table, hoping it had accidentally gotten hidden underneath something.

Taeyong flipped through the cards in his stack before glancing at the clock. It was early enough for them for Ten to still be awake. "Can you get in touch with Tennie and make sure they're coming? It might have gotten lost in the mail and I need to make sure we have something for the baby."

Kun grabbed his phone and went into the living room. He chewed his lip as he waited for his best friend to answer. “Hey, Kun, what’s up?” Ten greeted chipperly. “Hi, Tennie. Taeyong was going through the RSVP cards for the wedding and we don’t have yours. We think it got lost in the mail so I was just wondering if you guys were going to be able to make it,” Kun replied.

Taeyong waited while Kun was on the phone with Ten. He went through all of the cards again, making sure that he had counted the right number for each meal option, for each table, and in total. All of his numbers matched, which was a relief.

"Of course we'll be there!" Ten responded, "you really think I'm going to miss my best friend’s wedding?" Kun smiled widely. "No, no, I just wanted to make sure," he said. "Well, worst case scenario we're just gonna have to be wedding crashers," Ten joked. Kun chuckled fondly, "there's no need for that, you'll be on the list." They chatted for a few more minutes before Kun said his goodbyes and went back into the kitchen.

“They’re coming?” Taeyong questioned when Kun walked into the kitchen. He already had the pen ready to mark them down. “Ah shit, did you ask what they want to eat?”

Kun rolled his eyes fondly. “Do you really have that little faith in me?” he asked teasingly, “of course I did and I have a personal request from Jaemin to sit next to Jisung.” That actually wasn’t part of the conversation he had with Ten, but he wanted all of the boys to sit together.

"Of course, of course," Taeyong said, "the kids are all together." He set his pen down and looked at his fiancé. "Speaking of the kids," he started slowly.

Kun’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What about them?” he asked carefully. His mind was frantic, trying to think of what could be wrong.

"I was talking to Jae the other day," Taeyong said, "he and Brian are sending Wonpil to preschool over the summer to get him ready for kindergarten. I was thinking...maybe we should look into sending Lele somewhere? We haven't been on top of his English at all and I know he won't be ready for school this year, but..." He trailed off, not knowing where he was going with this.

Kun sighed, glad that there wasn’t a problem. “I think that could be good for him. We’d have to look around closely at what preschools are around here. It would certainly help him learn English and get him used to being away from us,” he said, “maybe there’s a half day program? Or at least something that tailors to kids who don’t speak English.”

"I think Jae mentioned one of his friends works at a child care center in Koreatown," Taeyong said, "I'll see if I can get his number."

“Oh, that would be great,” Kun said. That would certainly be good for Chenle, but that didn’t mean the boy would be happy with it. “I’m just worried how he’s going to do.”

"I think he'll be okay once he gets used to it," Taeyong said. He knew the boy would be upset at first but he had to learn to be independent at some point.

“I don’t want to tell him until we’re sure about this. And I want to go to the school with him to make sure he’s comfortable going,” Kun said. He knew he was being over protective but he couldn’t help it.

"I'll text Jae now," Taeyong said, reaching for his phone. He sent Jae a message asking about his friend and the older man responded almost immediately. "He already sent me his number," Taeyong said with a laugh, "his name is Matt."

“He works fast,” Kun commented. He took a seat back at the table and rested his head in his hands. “I guess there’s no harm in talking to this guy.”

"I feel bad texting him on a Saturday," Taeyong said nervously. He didn't know this guy at all and didn't want to just contact him out of nowhere.

Kun shook his head. “Don’t text him today. Let’s wait until Monday. We have the wedding to focus on today,” he said.

"Alright, alright," Taeyong relented, but come Monday, he texted Matt first thing in the morning. He attempted in his shoddy English at first, but the other man responded in Korean and the conversation instantly took off. Within a few hours, they had arranged a time to bring Chenle to the center and see if he liked it.

Kun had been coming home from work much happier since they moved, and today was no exception. “I’m home, boys!” he called cheerily when he walked in the front door.

Taeyong had taken the boys down to the child care center and, while Chenle was wary, he did seem to have fun. Matt was nice as well and Chenle had quickly taken a liking to him. They were going to try out a half day on Wednesday and see how he did. For now, he let the boy sprint out to greet his father.

“Hi, Lele,” Kun greeted, scooping the boy into his arms and planting a big kiss to his forehead. “How was your day?”

"Great!" Chenle said, practically vibrating with excitement, "I made a new friend and baba said I get to go play with him again on Wednesday!"

“Did you now? That’s so fun, Lele!” Kun said excitedly. He carried the boy through the house to find Taeyong and Jisung. He knew Taeyong was planning on talking to Matt today and Kun could only assume that was the friend Chenle was referring to.

Taeyong smiled when Kun entered the kitchen. "Hi, baby," he said, "how was your day?"

“Really good,” Kun replied, “from the sounds of it you boys had fun.” He released Chenle so he could give Jisung his own hug before walking over to Taeyong.

Taeyong gave Kun a quick kiss before he turned back to feeding Jisung. The baby was trying to help feed himself now, which made it about ten times messier.

“You’re making a mess, kiddo,” Kun commented. He slipped into the chair next to Taeyong and watched Jisung. It seemed like every time he turned around the baby was so much more mature. He was growing up too fast for Kun.

“Ba!” Jisung yelled excitedly, spraying mushed sweet potato all over Taeyong’s face.

“Oh, Sungie,” Kun said with a chuckle. He grabbed a napkin and began to help Taeyong wipe his face. “This is a good look for you, babe,” he teased.

Taeyong pouted at his fiancé, wiping a glob of potato off his cheek and smearing it on Kun’s instead. “Sungie’s lucky he’s so cute,” he said, “you are too.”

“Hey, hey, I was trying to help you!” Kun said defensively. He wiped the potato from his cheek with his napkin, leaving Taeyong with a small glob on the tip of his nose. “You know you love us,” he added with a sure smirk.

Taeyong wiped the rest of the potato off of his face and stood up. "Can you finish feeding him?" he asked, "I need to change my shirt."

“Sure thing, babe,” Kun said, sliding his chair closely, “alright, kiddo, the rest of the potato needs to stay in your mouth.” And for the most part it did. Chenle had even come into the kitchen at one point, giggling about how Kun missed a spot of potato on his cheek.

Taeyong headed upstairs to change his shirt and wash his fair. He found a chunk of potato in his hair and scraped it out with a groan. 

“Lele, do you want to help me give Sungie a bath?” Kun asked. Chenle usually agreed and ended up climbing in halfway through, which meant he could kill two birds with one stone.

Taeyong finished cleaning himself up and was glad to see Kun wrangling the boys into the bath. This was his fourth shirt today; if he wasn’t so insecure about his remaining stretch marks, he’d just go around without one. With a sigh, he returned to the bedroom to lay down.

Kun finished giving the boys a bath and brought them both back downstairs. He was surprised Taeyong wasn’t down here. They were having leftovers for dinner so he didn’t have to worry about cooking. He let Chenle have a few minutes to play while he went to search for his fiancé.

Taeyong was laying down, wrapped around a pillow, half asleep. He hadn’t been feeling that great all day and now was finally taking the chance to rest. Kun could handle dinner, right?

When Kun poked his head into their bedroom, he found Taeyong asleep on their bed. He didn’t want to wake his fiancé so he took Jisung back downstairs and heated up dinner for himself and Chenle. He could make something for Taeyong if he woke up later.

By the time Taeyong woke next, he was securely in his fiancé’s arms. Kun was dead to the world and Taeyong was content enough to just let himself fall back asleep.

Kun was nervous to go to work on Wednesday. He knew there was nothing he could do about Chenle going to preschool for the first time, but he was still nervous. He made Taeyong promise to call him if there were any problems, although he doubted that would happen.

Taeyong was a little stressed as he dropped Chenle off at preschool for the first time. The boy didn’t technically know that Taeyong wasn’t going to be there with him the entire time.

Chenle held Taeyong’s hand tightly as they walked into the school. Once they got in the room, he looked around trying to decide what he wanted to play with. He locked eyes with a pirate ship and began to pull Taeyong towards it.

“Lele, hold on, we have to go say hi to Matt first,” Taeyong said, pulling the boy back and looking for the taller man. Once he spotted the caregiver, he led Chenle over.

“Baba, I want to play,” Chenle whined. It wasn’t any use so he followed behind Taeyong closely. When they approached the tall man, Chenle glued himself to his father’s side.

“Hi, Chenle!” Matt said, crouching down to the toddler’s level, “Do you remember me from Monday?” When the boy nodded, he smiled widely. “That’s great! Your baba has to go to a doctor’s appointment, so you’re gonna stay and play with me for a few hours, okay, buddy?”

Chenle looked up at Taeyong. “You’ll come back?” he asked. He always made both of his fathers promise that whenever they had to leave.

“Of course, baby,” Taeyong said, “Sungie and I will only be gone a couple of hours, okay? I bet you’ll have so much fun you won’t even notice we’re gone.”

“I’ll miss you,” Chenle mumbled, hugging onto Taeyong’s legs. After a moment, he slowly let go and took a hesitant step towards Matt.

“I’ll miss you too,” Taeyong said, ruffling Chenle’s hair, “say bye, Sungie!” Jisung waved goodbye to his brother as he and Taeyong left the preschool.

Chenle watched Taeyong and Jisung leave before turning back towards Matt. “Can I...can I play with the pirate ship?” he asked slowly.

The appointment confirmed was Taeyong had already suspected: that he was pregnant once again. This time, he wasn’t afraid. He did choose to keep it from Kun for the time being though, so that he could surprise his fiancé at the wedding with the big news. There were only a few weeks left until the big day.

Chenle spent his morning rotating through the different toys around the preschool. He got distracted relatively quickly and stopped worrying about when Taeyong would come back to get him.

Taeyong figured he had time to stop and get lunch before he needed to get Chenle. If something was wrong, Matt would have called him.

After a while, Chenle looked at the clock on the wall. He had no idea how to read it, but it was different from when he came in. It had to have been a couple hours by now. That meant Taeyong would be back soon to get him. Right?

Once Taeyong finished his quick lunch and got Jisung’s diaper changed, he headed back to the preschool.

Chenle leapt out of the chair he was sitting in and ran across the room when he saw Taeyong walk back into the room. “Baba!” he cried as he latched onto his father’s legs. As much fun as he had, he was worried that Taeyong wasn’t going to come back.

“Careful, baby,” Taeyong said, stumbling back a few steps as Chenle plowed into him. “Did you have fun hanging out with Matt?”

Chenle nodded, but clung on even tighter. “Sorry,” he mumbled, voice muffled by Taeyong’s leg.

Taeyong carefully stepped out of Chenle’s grip so he could crouch down in front of the boy. “Do you think you might want to come back and play with Matt again?”

Chenle considered it for a moment before nodding. He had fun and there were a lot of new toys for him to play with here.

“Kun baba and I are going to bring you here a couple times a week to play with Matt and learn some English,” Taeyong explained, “and Dowoonie’s gonna come sometimes too.”

Chenle’s eyes lit up at the mention of his friend. “Dowoonie will come with me?” he asked excitedly, “Wonpil too?”

“Wonpil’s going to a different school,” Taeyong explained, “because he already knows English, but you and Dowoonie still need to learn. You’ll still get to see him on the other days though.” Jae knew about Chenle separation anxiety and was nice enough to send his boys on the same days so that they could still play together frequently.

“Okay,” Chenle agreed slowly. He was sad that Wonpil wasn’t going to be coming to school with him, but as long as he got to see his friend he was happy.

“Alrighty, go say bye to Matt so we can head home,” Taeyong instructed as he stood back up.

Chenle ran back over to Matt and hugged the tall man’s legs. “Bye bye,” he said before letting go and skipping back over to Taeyong.

Taeyong took Chenle’s hand and led him out of the preschool and back to the car. They would officially start sending him for full days on Monday when Dowoon started.

Chenle stared out the window while they drove home, fidgeting nervously. After a few moments he couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “Baba, are you sick?” he asked quietly.

“No, baby, I’m perfectly healthy,” Taeyong said, “I just had to go in for a check up!”

Chenle was satisfied with that and went back to watching out the window. They got home not long after than and once Chenle had some lunch he was off to play with Jisung. In seemingly no time at all, Kun had arrived home from work.

Taeyong greeted his fiancé with a kiss and connived him into cuddling on the couch while the boys played on the living room floor. Things were finally, finally, settling into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, folks, we made it! Thank you to everyone who has been following and reading and commenting. Michelle and I have dedicated a good year of our lives to this fic and we’re really glad that people are enjoying it just as much as we are. But don’t worry! This isn’t the last you’ll be seeing of the Lee-Qian family or any of their friends.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


	40. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You didn’t think we were going to end this without the wedding, did you?

The next few weeks were a whirlwind. Chenle had settled into preschool very smoothly and had already picked up a few English phrases. Jisung had also begun picking up a few words here and there thanks to his brother. Finally, everything came to a head; it was their wedding day. They had been waiting for years for this moment and Kun couldn't contain his excitement.

Taeyong was buzzing with nervous excitement. He hadn’t seen Kun since the night before, as Ten and Johnny had insisted on keeping them apart until they met to walk down the aisle together. They weren’t having a church wedding, just a simple ceremony in the same banquet hall where they were having the reception. Taeyong wrung his hands together and stared at the clock. It was almost go-time.

“Tennie, I want to see Tae,” Kun whined. It had been agony not being able to see his fiancé all day and Ten had refused to budge. “Sorry, but you got another,” Ten glanced down at his watch, “fifteen minutes to go.” Kun groaned loudly and continued pacing the room, much too nervous to even think about sitting down.

“Lele, you remember what you have to do, right?” Taeyong said, crouching down to talk to his son. The boy nodded. “Push Sungie and drop flowers,” he said proudly.

“Five minutes!” Ten called after what felt like an eternity. Kun nearly jumped out of his skin. He walked over to the door and rested a hand on the knob waiting obediently for Ten to release him. Ten kept a close eye on his watch and started a countdown the moment they had one minute left. It was agonizing. The minute he hit “one,” Kun threw the door open and stepped into the hallway.

Taeyong took a deep breath, watching Chenle and Jisung head off down the aisle ahead of Jae and Brian. They didn’t have many friends to include, so they had included pretty much all of them.

Ten slipped by Kun and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He walked over to Johnny and Yuta, linking his arm with the younger of the two and began their own walk down the aisle. Kun watched Chenle and Jisung for a moment and snuck a quick glance at each of their friends before looking for Taeyong. When his eyes finally landed on his fiancé, he gasped quietly. He looked absolutely stunning and Kun was practically frozen in place.

“Hi,” Taeyong whispered, reaching out to take his fiancé’s hand, “you look amazing.”

“So do you,” Kun breathed. He took a minute to let his eyes roam over his fiancé, memorizing every small detail, from each small fold of his suit, to how each piece of his hair was slicked back. He didn’t want to forget any of this. “I didn’t think I was going to last that long without seeing you,” he admitted quickly.

“We’re holding up the line,” Taeyong said quietly. He reached for Kun’s hand and led his fiancé up to the doors as the music switched to Mendelssohn’s wedding march.

Kun took Taeyong's hand in his own and paused for a moment. "Are you ready?" he whispered, eyes scanning the small crowd of their friends in front of them.

“As I’ll ever be,” Taeyong said, taking a deep breath. They started slowly walking down the aisle together and he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face.

Kun snuck a look at Taeyong and smiled widely. His fiancé was absolutely glowing and he didn't think he had ever been happier than he was at this moment. When they reached the end of the aisle, he turned to face his fiancé and took both hands tightly in his own.

Taeyong stared at his fiancé openly, barely paying attention until the officiant announced the exchange of the vows. He took a deep breath and pulled the folded paper out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket. “Kunnie,” he started, voice already wobbling. “I can’t believe today is already here. It seems like just minutes ago that you were annoyed with my tutoring emails. I can’t imagine how I would’ve gotten through these last eight years without you. I promise to always listen to your rants about the environment and hide in your shoulder during scary movies. I promise to always make your coffee extra light and your food a little less spicy. I promise to always hold your hand, no matter what or where. I promise to always give our boys the best home possible and to always wait for you, no matter where you are. You are my heart and soul, Qian Kun, and I’d never have it any other way.” Behind him, he just barely caught Johnny sniffling. “Yah, cut it out!” he said, turning to glare playfully at the older man with tears in his own eyes.

Kun smiled widely. He promised himself he wouldn’t cry, but Taeyong’s vows weren’t making it easy. Carefully, he reached over to wipe the corner of Taeyong’s eye with his thumb before beginning his own vows. Over the past few months, Kun had racked his brain trying to figure out how to make his vows extra meaningful and he finally decided on signing them. “Never in a million years did I imagine we’d be standing here where I first met you, but over the past eight years I quickly realized how much you mean to me. I would forge a sword with my bare hands to protect you with. I would tame the wildest dragon to save you. I will ring every bell I come across so that everyone knows how much I love you and I will brag about how your intelligence saved me from the impending doom I faced in college. Lee Taeyong, I love you more than there are stars in the sky. Thank you for taking a chance on the quiet boy from China.” He knew this would seem corny and even a little forced to their friends, but it would mean the world to them.

Taeyong nearly burst into full on sobs when Kun started signing his vows. He had even included their name signs, Chenle's and Jisung's too. It was perfect. Once Kun was done, Taeyong gripped his hands tightly. The officiant motioned for Chenle to pull his brother up with the two ring boxes.

"Please don't cry," Kun murmured. He held onto Taeyong's hands tightly and only let go to take the boxes from Jisung. "Thank you, boys," he said quietly. Chenle smiled proudly and looked down at Jisung.

Taeyong smiled and took his ring box from Jisung. With a deep breath, he cracked the box open, looking at the simply silver band within. When instructed to, he pulled the band out and slid it down Kun's left ring finger.

Kun opened his own box and slid the ring out. His hand was a little shaky but he managed to put it on Taeyong's finger. When the ring was securely in its place, Kun grabbed onto Taeyong's hands again. "By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you married. You may now kiss your husband," announced the officiant happily.

Taeyong didn't even wait for the officiant to finish speaking. He surged forward and kissed his fiancé - no, husband - deeply. 

Kun kissed Taeyong back eagerly. It felt like the first time all those years ago. He smiled into the kiss when he heard a loud whine from Chenle and he knew the boy was definitely covering his eyes.

Taeyong smiled widely as he pulled away from his husband and they turned to face the small crowd. The next few hours were a whirlwind. They were swept outside, along with the wedding party and their boys, to take pictures. After that, they went through all of the dances and typical traditions. Taeyong’s parents hadn’t been invited and Kun’s mother was still too sick to travel, so they replaced the typical parental dances by dancing with Johnny and Ten, their best men, instead. After that, it was finally time to eat.

Kun felt like he was on cloud nine. Today was absolutely amazing and it couldn’t get any more perfect. He hadn’t had a chance to breathe until they sat down to eat, and he knew that wouldn’t last long.

Johnny and Ten both had sweet speeches for them, the kind that made them both laugh and cry. Once the speeches were over, they were able to finally have a small moment to themselves at the head table. “Hey,” Taeyong said, “I know we’re not supposed to give each other anything, but I have a little card for you.”

“Tae, what did you do?” Kun asked. He hadn’t prepared anything extra for Taeyong and he wondered why on Earth his husband had.

Taeyong smiled as he slipped the envelope out of his suit pocket and handed it over to Kun. He knew his husband would be excited, but he was still nervous.

Kun took the envelope and stared at it for a moment, almost waiting for it to open itself. Taking a deep breath, he opened the envelope and took out the card. He had to read it twice to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. “You’re pregnant again?” he asked excitedly, looking back up at Taeyong. He knew his husband would never lie to him about something like this, but he couldn’t help the words that tumbled from his lips.

“Eight weeks,” Taeyong said with a shy smile. He was glad that his husband was excited. Their little family would be growing again and he couldn’t be happier.

“Oh my God, Tae,” Kun choked out. Despite his earlier promise to himself, he couldn’t stop the happy tears that were spilling from his eyes. “I love you so much,” he whispered sincerely. He stared at Taeyong for a moment before pulling him close so he could kiss him. Today truly couldn’t have been any more perfect and he couldn’t wait for the happiness the upcoming years had in store for them.

 

**Author's Note:**

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